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MORAL  TRAINING   IN    THE 
SCHOOL  AND    HOME 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NKW  YORK   •    BOSTON   •    CHICAGO  -    DALLAS 
ATLANTA   •    SAN    FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON   •    BOMBAY   •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


MORAL  TRAINING  IN  THE 
SCHOOL  AND  HOME 

A   MANUAL 
FOR  TEACHERS   AND   PARENTS 

BY 
E.  HERSHEY   SNEATH,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

PROFESSOR   IN    YALE    UNIVERSITY 
AND 

GEORGE   HODGES,  D.D.,  D.CX. 

DEAN   OF   THE   EPISCOPAL   THEOLOGICAL 
SCHOOL,  CAMBRIDGE 


WeiD  gork 

THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

1914 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1913, 
By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  May,  19x3. 
Reprinted    December,    iqi;^  February,    1914. 


PREFACE 

The  aim  of  this  Handbook  is  to  furnish  teachers 
with  a  manual  for  moral  training  in  elementary 
schools.  It  is  not  a  guide  for  teaching  ethics  to 
children,  for  such  instruction  belongs  to  a  later  pe- 
riod of  their  development.  It  merely  aims  to  assist 
teachers  in  their  efforts  to  train  children  systemati- 
cally in  the  virtues.  Such  training,  however,  involves 
imparting  moral  lessons,  and  of  course  the  teacher 
must  know  what  these  lessons  are,  and  when  and 
how  they  should  be  imparted.  This  book  deals 
briefly,  and  in  a  very  concrete  manner,  with  the  sub- 
ject matter  and  methods  involved  in  such  moral 
training.  It  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  authors'  expe- 
rience in  preparing  a  graded  system  of  moral  in- 
struction by  means  of  fairy  tale,  myth,  fable,  legend, 
parable,  allegory,  hero  and  heroine  tales,  biographical 
sketch,  and  historical  event,  in  the  form  of  a  series 
of  literary  and  ethical  readers  {T/ie  Golden  Rule 
Series,  The  Macmillan  Company,  New  York).  The 
book  may  be  used  independently  or  in  connection 
with  the  Series.  It  is  the  earnest  hope  of  the  authors 
that  both  the  Handbook  and  the  Series  may  prove 
serviceable  to  teachers  desirous  of  introducing  sys- 
tematic moral  training  into  elementary  schools,  and  to 
parents  desirous  of  introducing  such  training  into  the 

home. 

E.  HERSHEY  SNEATH. 

GEORGE  HODGES, 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     Moral  Training  —  Its  Aim  and  Method         .  i 

II.    The  Bodily  Life i6 

III.  The  Bodily  Life  {continued)      ....  36 

IV.  The  Intellectual  Life 57 

V.     The  Social  Life  (The  Family)        .        .        .71 

VI.    The  Social  Life  (The  School)        ...  89 

VII.     The  Social  Life  (The  Community)  .        .112 

VI 11.    The  Social  Life  (Relations  to  Animals)      .  129 

IX.    The  Economic  Life 139 

X.     The  Political  Life    .' 153 

XI.     The  yEsTHETic  Life 166 

XII.    The  Moral  Atmosphere  of  the  School         .  189 

XIII.    Religion  and  Moral  Training         .        .        .  202 

INDEX 221 


MORAL  TRAINING  IN  THE 
SCHOOL  AND  HOME 

■2.  (h  O  S  <^ 
MORAL  TRAINING  —  ITS  AIM  AND  METHOD 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  some  of  the  things  of 
most  importance  receive  least  attention  in  our  edu- 
cational schemes.  Probably  no  one,  on  a  little  reflec- 
tion, will  question  the  importance  of  morality  for 
the  individual  and  society.  For  the  individual, 
the  virtues  are  a  means  of  self-preservation  and  of  the 
highest  possible  self-development.  For  society,  the 
same  thing  is  true.  Society  could  not  exist  with- 
out justice,  truth,  honesty,  and  industry.  They  are 
necessary  conditions,  not  only  of  the  well-being  of 
society,  but  of  its  being  at  all.  Morality  lies  at 
the  foundations  of  the  social  structure,  and  it  is  the 
essential  condition  of  its  perpetuity.  So  that  in  the 
ethical  sphere  we  are  in  the  sphere  of  supreme  values, 
and  the  paramount  business  of  the  individual  is  to 
moralize  his  life,  and  the  supreme  business  of  society 
is  to  moralize  itself. 

And  yet,  notwithstanding  the  supremacy  of  mo- 


2        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL    AND   HOME 

ralit}',  hardly  anywhere  in  this  country  is  provision 
made  for  careful,  systematic,  graded  moral  training 
in  the  schools  —  either  public  or  private  —  and  much 
less  in  the  home.  We  get  along  with  what  at  best 
can  be  called  incidental  instruction.  And  in  the 
average  home  moral  training,  as  a  rule,  consists  of  a 
set  of  "don'ts"  and  "dos"  — chiefly  "don'ts"  — 
as  occasion  requires,  with  the  parents'  moral  judg- 
ment, which  is  often  uncritical,  as  the  measure  of 
the  child's  obligation. 

This  is  wrong,  and  flagrantly  wrong.  How  wrong 
it  is  can  be  estimated  only  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
fact  that,  as  we  have  seen,  morality  is  the  reality  of 
supreme  worth.  But  it  is  of  little  consequence  to 
point  out  a  wrong  if  one  cannot  provide  a  remedy  for 
it.  Some  may  say  that  the  remedy  lies  in  creating  a 
public  sentiment  that  will  demand  systematic  train- 
ing in  morals  in  the  schools.  As  citizens,  we  have  no 
jurisdiction  over  the  home  in  these  matters ;  but  we 
have  over  the  schools.  They  are  our  schools,  created 
and  maintained  by  us,  and  as  morality  is  the  essen- 
tial condition  of  public  welfare,  and  the  fact  of  su- 
preme importance  to  the  state,  we  ought  to  demand 
of  them  that  our  children  be  systematically  trained  in 
the  virtues. 

But  is  it  really  necessary  to  create  such  a  senti- 
ment, or  to  make  such  a  demand  ?  Does  the  senti- 
ment not  exist  already,  and  are  not  the  schools  in 


MORAL   TRAINING  —  ITS   AIM   AND   METHOD  3 

sympathy  with  it?  In  a  questionnaire  circulated 
among  the  grade  teachers  of  ten  cities  several  years 
ago,  a  large  majority  of  the  teachers  responded  in 
favor  of  such  moral  training.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
in  virtually  all  of  our  schools,  moral  lessons  are  im- 
parted, indicating,  of  course,  an  interest  in  this  phase 
of  human  culture.  But  there  is  no  careful,  graded 
system  of  moral  training  to  be  found  there.  This 
is  true  in  both  pubUc  and  private  schools.  It  is  one 
of  the  marvels  of  education,  that,  notwithstanding 
the  recognition  of  the  vital  importance  of  morality, 
and  the  constant  affirmation  by  educators  of  the 
ethical  end  of  all  education,  very  little  attempt  has 
been  made  in  this  country  to  work  out  such  a  graded 
system.  France  and  Japan  have  introduced  a  sys- 
tem of  moral  instruction  into  the  government  schools. 
In  England,  such  a  system  has  been  organized,  and 
already  it  has  been  introduced  into  more  than  thirty- 
five  hundred  schools.  But  in  this  country,  barring 
recent  incomplete  attempts  in  several  states,  nothing 
has  been  done  in  this  direction.  That  we  have  failed 
to  provide  a  graded  system  of  moral  training  proves 
us  as  educators  to  be  woefully  recreant  to  the  most 
vital  and  sacred  interests  of  those  committed  to  our 
care.  Taking  for  granted,  then,  that  the  sentiment 
in  favor  of  systematic  moral  culture  in  our  schools 
exists,  the  careful  organization  of  such  a  system  is  a 
great  desideratum,  and  it  should  be  introduced  into 


4        MORAL   TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL    AND    HOME 

all  schools,  both  public  and  private.  In  organizing 
it  the  following  essentials  should  be  observed  :  — 

First,  we  should  not  try  to  teach  ethics.  The  time 
when  the  pupil  is  in  the  grades  is  not  the  time  when 
he  should  be  introduced  to  a  science  of  morals ;  such 
a  procedure  would  prove  worse  than  useless.  What 
the  teacher  should  aim  to  do  is,  to  establish  the  pupil 
in  the  virtues  —  in  the  habits  of  will  and  forms  of 
conduct  —  that  are  so  essential  to  the  development 
of  the  individual  and  of  society. 

In  the  second  place,  we  should  recognize  the  neces- 
sity of  beginning  with  the  kindergarten.  Systematic 
observation,  and  a  careful  study  of  psychology  in  its 
relation  to  the  child's  moral  nature,  reveal  the  fact 
that  he  is  sufficiently  developed  at  this  time  to  begin 
a  kind  of  systematic  training  along  moral  lines.  Such 
training  ought  to  be  continued  all  through  the  grades, 
as  well  as  through  secondary  education. 

In  the  third  place,  it  is  exceedingly  important  to 
determine  the  virtues  and  vices  that  belong  to  each 
stage  of  the  individual's  unfolding.  We  must  de- 
termine in  a  scheme  of  moral  culture  the  virtues 
and  vices  to  be  dealt  with  in  the  respective  grades. 
This  should  be  done  by  employing  the  methods  of 
psychology  in  a  careful  study  of  the  moral  unfolding 
of  the  child.  The  so-called  recapitulatory  theory  — 
that  the  history  of  the  race  is  more  or  less  epitomized 
in  the   child,  —  true,  at   least,  in   its   more   general 


MORAL   TRAINING — ITS   AIM   AND   METHOD  5 

aspects,  will  be  of  service  here.  The  results  of  such 
an  inquiry  should  be  supplemented  by  a  questionnaire 
circulated  among  thousands  of  grade  teachers,  secur- 
ing the  results  of  their  observation,  based  on  wide 
experience.  In  these  ways  we  may  determine,  ap- 
proximately at  least,  what  virtues  and  vices  ought  to 
be  dealt  with  in  elementary  education. 

In  the  fourth  place,  due  regard  must  be  paid  to  the 
determination  of  the  right  method  to  be  used  in  moral 
training  in  the  elementary  grades.  Admitting  the 
necessity,  especially  in  the  home,  of  more  or  less 
direct  instruction,  the  chief  method  of  teaching  the 
child  morality  should  nevertheless  be  the  indirect 
method.  That  is,  we  must  avoid  the  formal,  didactic 
method.  We  should  introduce  children  to  the  vir- 
tues and  vices,  with  their  corresponding  rewards  and 
punishments,  through  fairy  tale,  myth,  fable,  allegory, 
parable,  legend,  stories  of  heroes  and  heroines,  biog- 
raphy and  history.  The  child  is  easily  brought  into 
sympathy  with  the  story,  and  grasps  in  this  concrete 
and  interesting  way  its  moral  import ;  and  the  lesson, 
because  of  the  child's  intense  sympathies,  soon  sinks 
into  his  sensitive  mind  and  receptive  heart. 

The  history  of  story-telhng  shows  the  hold  it  has 
upon  the  human  mind.  This  history  is  "full  of  vivid 
and  dramatic  scenes ;  and  everywhere  belief  gives  a 
touch  of  sincerity  and  seriousness.  It  tells  of  groups 
of  young  American  Indians,  who  sit  by  the  night  fire, 


6       MORAL   TR.\INING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

nestling  close  to  earth,  listening  to  old  tales  of  giants 
who  live  in  the  north,  and  of  the  great  wind-bird 
who  makes  the  storms.  One  will  hear  of  story- 
tellers in  villages  of  the  African  forest,  who  tell  tales 
of  the  wonderful  doings  of  animals :  of  the  antelope, 
the  leopard,  the  turtle,  and  even  Br'er  Rabbit.  One 
will  come  upon  groups  of  Eskimo  children  listening 
to  stories  of  the  ancient  time,  some  of  them  like 
many  of  our  own  stories  that  have  come  to  us  from 
the  Icelandic  Norse.  In  the  East  there  will  be  charm- 
ing scenes  in  which  yellow-robed  priests,  with  palm- 
leaf  books  in  their  laps,  are  telling  or  reading  the 
birth  stories  of  Buddha.  In  China  and  Japan  will 
be  found  the  professional  story-teller,  entertaining 
or  teaching  in  the  pubHc  hall,  or  in  the  market-place ; 
scenes  in  so  many  ways  like  those  in  ancient  Greece, 
that  one  will  wonder  whether  there  was  once  contact 
between  the  two  civihzations.  In  Northern  Africa 
the  professional  story-teller  will  be  seen  entertaining 
crowds  of  wild-eyed  Arabs  in  the  public  market- 
place. If  one  lingers  among  historic  places  in  Europe 
he  will  still  imagine  the  presence  of  the  strolhng 
singers  and  bards,  who  did  more  than  any  other  class 
to  keep  culture  alive  through  the  Dark  Ages,  and 
who  laid  the  foundations  of  our  literature.  Among 
northern  castles  one  will  seem  to  hear  still  the  echoes 
of  the  voices  of  the  ancient  skalds,  telling  of  the  great 
deeds  of  old  kings^  and  of  the  mighty  gods,  Odin 


MORAL   TRAINING  —  ITS   AIM   AND   METHOD  7 

and  Thor.  In  rural  Germany,  in  Normandy,  in  the 
Highlands,  and  the  country  districts  of  Ireland, 
and  wherever  there  is  still  a  trace  of  unwritten  litera- 
ture, and  the  folk-tale  survives,  one  will  find  remains 
of  story-telling  customs  which  have  outlived  the  cen- 
turies. There  will  be  the  warm  fireside,  the  music, 
the  home-brewed  beer  or  cider,  the  eager  peasants 
listening  to  the  strange  stories  of  the  traveUng  story- 
teller, who  perhaps  combines  with  his  art  the  more 
practical  trade  of  shoemaker  or  tailor.  Wherever, 
in  a  word,  there  has  been  religion  to  teach,  tradition 
and  custom  to  perpetuate,  history  to  record ;  where- 
ever  there  is  folk  thought  and  local  legend,  country 
gossip  and  news,  there  will  be  found  the  story-teller 
—  more  or  less  serious  and  skilled,  more  or  less  a 
creative  artist ;  but  usually  with  a  sense  of  a  serious 
mission  to  carry  abroad  what  he  has  learned  as  the 
truthr  1 

This  is  really  no  exaggeration.  In  the  story  we 
have  a  kind  of  universal  language.  It  has  an  interest 
for  every  one  at  some  period  of  his  career.  Its  em- 
pire extends  to  the  confines  of  the  race.  Its  throne 
is  established  especially  in  the  imagination  and  heart 
of  childhood  —  whether  in  the  childhood  of  the  in- 
dividual or  the  childhood  of  the  race.  Anything  so 
intensely  human  —  so  essentially  the  possession  of 

1  Partridge,  "  Story-telling  in  School  and  Homfc,"  New  York- 1912, 
pp.  8-10. 


8       MORAL  TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

the  race  —  must  find  its  raison  d'etre  deep  seated  in 
the  human  soul.  Its  psychology  reveals  something 
more  than  a  mere  play  of  fancy  or  a  desire  to  be  en- 
tertained. Stories,  in  their  fundamental  aspects,  are 
the  products  of  intense  human  desires,  fears,  hopes, 
and  beliefs.  In  the  earlier  history  of  man  they  were 
undoubtedly  the  outgrowth  of  man's  struggle  with 
nature  and  with  supposed  unseen  powers.  Stories 
represent  the  fears,  desires,  and  hopes  of  this  struggle. 
Giants,  fairies,  etc.,  are  the  personification  of  these 
fears,  desires,  and  hopes.  These  beings,  revealed  by 
fancy  and  the  imagination,  conquer  or  are  to  conquer 
others,  who  represent  opposing  forces.  Stories  are 
born  of  religious  and  ethical  moods,  and  this  is  why 
they  are  so  intensely  human  in  their  character. 

The  story  has  for  ages  proven  itself  a  most  effec- 
tive educational  means.  Indeed,  it  constituted  one 
of  the  earliest  means  of  education.  Priests,  prophets, 
poets,  singers,  historians,  made  use  of  it.  The  Hindoo 
Jatakas,  the  Hebrew  tales,  the  Greek  myths  and 
fables,  the  Christian  parables,  the  medieval  ballads 
and  legends,  all  testify  to  the  fact  that  the  story  in 
some  form  has  been  a  favorite  method  of  commu- 
nicating knowledge  and  behef.  This  is  doubtless 
due  to  the  fact  that  it  is  such  a  very  human  thing. 
By  virtue  of  its  content  it  appeals  to  the  humanity 
in  us.  Our  imagination  and  sympathies  are  awak- 
ened, iuid  together  they  envisage  the  story  content 


MORAL   TRAINING ITS    AIM   AND   METHOD  9 

with  reality  —  they  clothe  the  characters  with  flesh 
and  blood.  In  most  instances  the  reader  or  hearer 
of  the  story  identifies  himself  with  the  hero  or 
heroine  of  the  tale.  In  short,  the  story  secures  our 
interest,  and  what  we  are  interested  in  we  attend  to, 
and  what  we  attend  to,  as  a  rule,  we  remember,  and 
what  we  remember  we  think  about,  and  all  this, 
when  it  involves  a  moral  content,  affects  character 
and  conduct. 

Now,  because,  as  a  rule,  the  story  is  a  spiritual  crea- 
tion, involving  a  moral  content,  as  is  manifest  in  so 
many  fairy  tales,  myths,  fables,  parables,  allegories, 
legends,  etc.,  its  use  becomes  a  peculiarly  efifective 
method  in  moral  culture,  and  this  is  why  the  great 
moral  teachers  have  resorted  to  it.  As  Froebel  once 
said:  "It  is  not  the  gay  forms  that  he  meets  in  the 
fairy  tale  which  charm  the  child,  but  a  spiritual,  in- 
visible truth  lying  far  deeper."  It  is  not  merely 
because  the  story  entertains,  and  ministers  often  to 
the  child's  self-forgetfulness,  but  because  of  its  moral 
and  spiritual  content  that  the  child  becomes  vitally 
interested  in  it.  This  is  what  makes  it  such  a  potent 
instrument  in  character  building.  A  book  of  well- 
selected  stories,  or  a  series  of  such  tales  well  told  by 
the  teacher,  is  far  more  effective  than  any  text-book. 
This  is  doubtless  what  President  Hall  meant  when  he 
said:  "Let  me  tell  the  stories  and  I  care  not  who 
writes  the  text-books."     A  good  story  is  a  sure  and 


lO       MORAL    TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

swift  method  of  approach  to  a  child's  mind  and 
heart. 

Furthermore,  in  certain  respects  the  moral  story 
is  a  more  powerful  influence  with  the  child  than  an 
actual  Uving  example.  The  sanctions  of  morality  — 
the  rewards  and  penalties  —  must  be  apparent  and 
more  or  less  immediate  to  the  child  if  the  moral 
lesson  is  to  be  effective.  In  actual  life  these  are  not 
always  obvious,  and  often  seem  far  removed  in  point 
of  time.  Whereas,  in  the  story,  punishment  is  swift 
and  reward  immediate,  so  that  the  child  soon  per- 
ceives what  the  results  of  bad  and  good  conduct  are. 

Objection  is  sometimes  urged  against  the  use  of 
stories  —  especially  of  fairy  tales  —  by  sophisticated 
persons  who  would  reduce  all  life  to  the  terms  of  a 
scientific  prose  translation,  and  are  afraid  of  the  pres- 
entation of  truth  in  any  other  manner  than  in  the 
language  of  fact.  Some  parents  fear  that  children 
may  draw  from  these  fanciful  tales  inferences  about 
the  world  which  must  be  unlearned,  and  that  the  pro- 
cess of  unlearning  may  lead  to  a  skeptical  attitude 
toward  all  instruction.  The  child  finds  out  that  the 
fairy  stories  are  not  true,  and  infers  that  other  teach- 
ing is  untrue  also.  The  fact  is,  however,  that  the 
normal  child  passes  easily  out  of  the  reading  of  im- 
aginative fiction  into  the  reading  of  veritable  history 
without  any  process  of  disillusion.  He  perceives  the 
difference.     We  do  not  need  to  explain  it  to  him. 


MORAL    TRAINING ITS    AIM    AND   METHOD  II 

He  is  no  more  likely  to  reproach  us  for  telling  him 
about  giants  and  dragons  than  for  dressing  him  in 
the  proper  frocks  of  childhood.  He  instinctively 
puts  all  these  things  where  they  belong.  Meanwhile, 
the  fairies  are  as  appropriate  to  his  youth  as  the 
frocks.  He  comes  on  with  widened  interest,  having 
taken  into  his  possession  that  sense  of  the  mystery  of .; 
the  world  which  right  education  does  but  increase. 
He  gets  out  of  his  reading  an  assurance  of  the  eventual 
triumph  of  the  good,  which  he  may  verify  afterward 
in  history,  and  which  he  needs  for  the  development 
of  his  character. 

Again,  there  is  a  psychology  governing  the  order 
of  the  selection  of  stories.  The  psychological  order 
is  practically  the  historical  one.  A  regard  for  it 
would  begin  with  the  myth  and  fairy  tale,  because 
their  people  are  most  nearly  Hke  children  themselves. 
Especially  is  this  true  of  the  fairy  tale.  And  the  fact 
that  the  child  is  greatly  interested  in  animals  makes 
the  fable  effective,  although  here  we  find  the  moral 
stated,  which  is  not  so  effective  as  when  the  child  is 
permitted  to  infer  it  himself.  As  the  child  grows 
older  and  deals  more  and  more  with  the  real  than 
with  the  fictitious,  the  legend,  which  has  an  element 
of  both,  paves  the  way  for  a  transition  from  the 
myth,  fairy  tale,  and  fable  to  stories  of  real  life.  In 
the  stories  of  King  Arthur  and  his  Knights,  in  the 
adventures  of  Robin  Hood,  in  the  splendid  legends 


y 


12      MORAL    TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND    HOME 

of  the  heroes,  the  fairy  tales  merge  into  actual  life. 
The  child  learns  the  fineness  of  courtesy,  the  com- 
bination of  tenderness  with  strength,  the  protection 
of  the  weak,  the  scorn  of  all  things  base  and  mean, 
which  are  exemplified  in  the  exploits  of  men  in  armor. 
In  all  this  he  is  living  the  long  past  over  again,  and 
is  coming  on  over  the  road  of  progress  along  which 
the  race  has  gone  before  him.  He  is  filhng  in  the 
historic  background  of  human  Hfe.  After  the  legend 
comes  a  vital  interest  in  heroes  and  heroines,  as  life 
actually  presents  them,  and  moral  education  will 
meet  this  interest  with  biographical  and  historical 
literature. 

Furthermore,  the  indirect  method  demands  that 
the  child  be  allowed  to  do  his  own  moralizing.  To 
tell  the  story,  and  then  to  apply  it  in  the  form  of 
preaching  or  exhortation,  is  not  to  be  commended. 
The  child  is  capable  of  doing  his  own  m.oralizing,  and 
this  is  much  more  effective  than  if  the  parent  or 
teacher  does  it  for  him.  It  is,  of  course,  vitally  im- 
portant that  the  child  should  grasp  the  moral  import 
of  the  story.  If  he  fails  to  do  so  at  first,  tactful 
questioning  will  bring  the  moral  lesson  out ;  but,  by 
all  means,  avoid  "preaching."  As  Professor  St.  John 
says:  "If  a  good  story  is  well  told  moralizing  is  not 
necessary;  but  that  is  not  all.  It  has  been  clearly 
demonstrated  that  it  weakens  the  moral  influence. 
Psychologists  have  formulated  the  law  that  the  power 


MORAL   TRAINING  —  ITS   AIM   AND   METHOD        13 

of  normal  suggestion  varies  inversely  with  the  extent 
to  which  its  purpose  is  definitely  revealed.  The 
mother  who  says  to  a  child,  'Why  don't  you  go  out 
on  the  lawn  and  see  how  many  dandehons  you  can 
pick  ? '  is  likely  to  secure  a  period  of  privacy,  but  if 
she  adds,  'so  that  I  can  be  alone  for  a  little  while,' 
the  result  will  not  be  the  same.  Children  resent  the\ 
old-fashioned  Sunday-school  stories  with  their  too 
obvious  moral  purpose,  but  are  strongly  influenced 
by  transcripts  of  hfe  in  which  the  same  duties  are  ■ 
clearly  implied,  but  not  explicitly  stated.  So  adults 
are  often  more  strongly  influenced  by  a  play  hke 
The  Servant  in  the  House  than  by  many  sermons."  ^ 

In  the  fifth  place,  if  morals  are  to  be  taught  in 
this  manner,  it  necessitates  a  body  of  good  literature, 
carefully  graded  in  vocabulary,  interest,  and  ethical 
content.  This  literature,  so  far  as  possible,  should  be 
selected  from  the  best  ancient  and  modern  lore  of  all 
nations.  We  are  thus  Ukely  to  secure,  not  only  the  best 
literature,  but  also  to  strike  the  fundamentally  moral 
and  human.  In  making  a  collection  of  such  literature 
for  the  schools  the  utmost  care  must  be  taken  not 
to  use  anything  that  has  not  been  made  the  subject 
of  actual  test  in  the  classroom.  It  is  in  this  way 
alone  that  the  best  results  can  be  secured.  This 
literature  should  be  compiled  in  the  form  of  ethical 
readers  that  may  take  their  place  side  by  side  with 

^  St.  John,  "  Stories  and  Story-telling,"  Boston,  1910,  p.  33. 


14      MOIL^L    TRAINING    IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND    HOME 

literary,  historical,  nature,  and  other  readers.  Thus, 
for  nine  years,  in  the  kindergarten,  and  in  the  eight 
grades  of  the  elementary  schools,  we  could  train  the 
pupil  in  the  virtues  by  means  of  good  literature 
adapted  in  every  way  to  the  pupil's  stage  of  develop- 
ment. 

It  should  be  stated  again  that  we  are  not  to  teach  a 
science  of  ethics.  We  are  to  establish  the  pupil  in 
the  virtues.  We  are  to  build  character,  and  the  best 
way  in  which  to  do  this  is  by  systematically  placing 
before  the  pupil  moral  situations  as  embodied  in 
story.  Such  situations,  thus  presented,  deahng  with 
the  virtues  and  vices  peculiar  to  each  period  of  the 
child's  unfolding,  result  in  wholesome  moral  reactions 
which,  through  frequent  repetition,  lead  the  pupil 
to  develop  habits  of  will  and  forms  of  conduct  that 
are  morally  worthy.  In  other  words,  they  tend  to 
estabhsh  him  in  those  virtues  which  constitute  the 
foundations  of  good  character. 

Finally,  the  teacher  herself  should  be  a  good  story- 
teller. The  story  of  the  reader  should  often  be  sup- 
plemented by  a  similar  story  related  by  the  teacher. 
In  order  that  this  may  be  effectively  done,  the  teacher 
should  cultivate  the  art  of  story-telling,  and  should 
have  a  fund  of  stories  at  her  command.  She  must 
famiharize  herself  with  the  fundamentals  of  story- 
telling, and  she  will  find  that  practice  will  grad- 
ually tend  to  perfect  her  art.     It  may  be  diflScult 


MORAL    TRAINING ITS    AIM    AND   METHOD         1 5 

at  first,  but  perseverance  will  conquer  the  difficulties, 
and  victory  means  much  for  the  teacher.  It  adds  to 
her  power  over  the  child.  The  child  is  eager  to  hear, 
and  he  reacts  with  a  receptive  mind  and  heart.  Such 
an  audience  should  be  an  inspiration  to  the  teacher, 
and  it  should  furnish  an  incentive  to  make  herself 
proficient  in  this  interesting  and  potent  art.  To 
have  the  story  of  the  reader  supplemented  by  the 
well- told  story  of  the  teacher  will  make  the  moral 
lesson  doubly  effective. 

The  teacher  will  find  it  to  her  advantage  to  consult 
the  following  works  on  stories,  and  how  to  tell  them : — • 

"The  Science  of  Fairy  Tales,"  E.  Sidney  Hartland; 
"Fairy  Tales:  Their  Meaning  and  Origin,"  J.  T.  Bunce; 
"Comparative  Mythology,"  Max  Mueller ;  "The  Mythol- 
ogy of  the  Aryan  Nations,"  Sir  G.  W.  Cox ;  "How  to  Tell 
Stories  to  Children,"  Sara  Cone  Bryant;  "  Some  Great 
Stories  and  How  to  Tell  Them,"  R.  T.  Wyche;  "Story- 
telling :  What  to  Tell  and  How  to  Tell  It,"  Edna  Lyman ; 
"Stories  and  Story- telling  in  Moral  and  Religious  Edu- 
cation," E.  P.  St.  John;  "Story-telling  in  School  and 
Home,"  E.  N.  and  G.  E.  Partridge. 

Consult  "Stories  and  Story-Telling,"  pp.  95-99,  E.  P. 
St.  John,  on  "Where  to  find  Stories." 

An  elaborate  bibliography  on  Moral  Education  is  con- 
tained in  "Moral  Instruction  and  Training  in  Schools," 
edited  by  M.  E.  Sadler,  London,  1908,  Vol.  II,  pp.  351- 
369,  and  in  "  Moral  Education  "  by  Edward  Howard  Griggs, 
New  York,  1904,  pp.  297-341. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE   BODILY   LIFE 

All  human  efficiency  is  conditioned  on  bodily 
efficiency.  This  is  a  dictum  of  modern  science.  Now 
since  the  bodily  life  is  subject  to  moral  law,  our  prime 
duty  in  this  field  of  human  functioning  is  so  to  de- 
velop the  body  as  to  secure  the  highest  possible 
efficiency,  and  to  avoid  everything  that  makes  against 
its  well-being.  In  other  words,  we  ought  to  preserve 
and  promote  the  health  and  strength  of  the  body, 
and  to  guard  it  against  everything  that  tends  to 
weaken  and  destroy  it.  This  obligates  us  to  ac- 
quaint ourselves  with  the  essential  conditions  of 
bodily  welfare,  and  to  conform  to  them.  According 
to  hygiene,  the  welfare  of  the  bodily  organism  is 
dependent  on  cleanliness  of  person,  clothes,  and  sur- 
roundings; on  the  quantity,  quality,  and  digestion 
of  our  food,  and  on  the  regularity  of  our  eating ; 
on  the  purity  of  the  water  we  drink,  as  well  as  on  the 
manner  of  our  drinking;  on  the  air  we  breathe,  its 
temperature,  moisture,  freedom  from  bacteria,  as 
well  as  on  our  methods  of  breathing ;  on  the  sufficiency 
and  soundness  of  our  sleep ;  on  the  amount  and  kind 

i6 


THE   BODILY    LITE  1 7 

of  exercise  we  take ;  and  on  either  abstinence  or 
temperance  with  reference  to  indulgence  in  alcoholic 
stimulants,  narcotics,  sexual  passions,  etc.  This 
being  so,  it  is  important  that  the  pupil  should  ap- 
prehend these  essentials,  not  only  as  natural  conditions 
of  bodily  welfare,  but  also  as  involving  duties  im- 
posed on  him  by  his  moral  nature.  To  remain  in 
willful  ignorance  concerning  the  conditions  of  bodily 
well-being,  and  to  fail  willfully  to  conform  to  them, 
is  to  be  guilty  of  gross  moral  neglect,  and  of  positive 
evil. 

It  is  evident  that  many  of  the  duties  pertaining 
to  the  bodily  life  come  early  in  the  individual's  career. 
Indeed,  they  antedate  the  period  when  the  child 
first  enters  upon  his  school  Hfe.  It  is,  therefore, 
obligatory  upon  the  parent,  or  upon  those  who  have 
the  supervision  of  the  child  in  these  early  years,  to 
make  him  acquainted  with  these  duties,  and  to  teach 
him  to  perform  them.  In  these  early  years  the  direct 
method  may  not  only  be  necessary,  but  in  all  prob- 
abihty  it  will  prove  the  more  efficient.  However, 
after  the  sixth  year  the  indirect  method  is  without 
doubt  primarily  the  method  to  be  used. 

In  moral  instruction  in  this  sphere  of  human 
nature  we  seek  to  acquaint  the  pupil  with  virtues 
and  vices  that  pertain  to  the  Hfe  of  the  body,  and  also 
to  establish  him  in  those  habits  of  will  and  forms 
of  conduct  that  make  for  its  highest  well-being.     One 


1 8      MORAL    TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL    AND    HOME 

of  the  natural  conditions  of  a  healthy  body  is  bodily 
cleanliness.  In  view  of  the  germ  theory  of  disease 
the  importance  of  this  condition  needs  to  be  fully 
emphasized.  Dangerous  microbes  exist  in  dirt  which 
constantly  menace  the  health  of  the  body.  They 
infest  the  dust  that  accumulates  under  the  finger 
nails,  or  on  the  surface  of  the  body,  especially  on  the 
hands  and  face,  and  are  thus  often  introduced  into 
the  system  by  being  conveyed  to  the  mouth,  or  to 
cuts  and  scratches  on  the  body.  This  often  results 
in  disease,  or  in  painful  and  dangerous  inflammations. 
Hence  the  necessity  of  keeping  the  body  clean  by 
frequent  bathing.  Dangerous  microbes  exist  also 
in  unclean  clothing  and  are  transferred  to  the  body. 
Hence  it  is  not  a  matter  of  indifference  whether  our 
clothes  be  clean  or  not.  Here  cleanliness  becomes  a 
necessity  also. 

Again,  harmful  microbes  lurk  in  the  food  which 
accumulates  between  and  in  the  cavities  of  our  teeth. 
When  it  is  allowed  to  remain  there,  it  soon  turns  into 
a  workhouse  for  microbes  —  a  breeding  place  of 
disease.  It  is  really  surprising  how  many  serious 
diseases  are  the  result  of  neglect  or  improper  care 
of  the  teeth.  Hence  the  necessity  of  keeping  them 
in  a  healthy  condition  by  frequent  cleansing  and 
proper  dentistry. 

Furthermore,  the  function  of  the  skin  is  to  eliminate 
waste  products,  and  particularly  to  control  the  heat 


THE    BODILY    LIFE  1 9 

losses  of  the  system.  In  order  to  function  normally 
it  must  be  kept  in  a  healthy  condition.  The  pores 
must  be  kept  open  by  frequent  removal  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  body  of  the  products  they  emit.  This,  of 
course,  is  to  be  accomplished  by  frequent  bathing, 
and  by  rubbing  the  body  thoroughly  with  a  rough 
towel.  Bodily  cleanliness  becomes  an  essential  if 
the  body  is  to  maintain  efficiently  its  functions  and 
promote  its  own  well-being. 

Now,  since  personal  cleanhness  in  all  of  these  forms 
is  an  essential  natural  condition  of  bodily  health  and 
strength,  and  since  we  are  under  moral  obligation 
to  preserve  and  to  promote  the  efficiency  of  the  body, 
such  cleanliness  is  a  matter  of  moral  obligation  also. 
We  are  morally  bound  to  practice  it  as  a  virtue.  No- 
where can  this  virtue  be  taught  with  greater  success 
than  in  the  school.  In  many  instances  home  condi- 
tions are  such  that  a  systematic  observance  of  this 
obligation  on  the  part  of  the  children  can  hardly  be 
expected.  So  that  the  school  has  a  special  duty  to 
perform  here.  Personal  cleanliness  ought  to  be  made 
a  requirement  on  the  part  of  every  pupil.  Here 
compulsion  becomes  a  virtue.  The  hygienic,  aes- 
thetic, and  moral  sanctions  of  personal  cleanliness 
ought  to  be  brought  to  bear  on  the  pupil.  The 
hygienic  sanctions  will,  of  course,  be  dealt  with  in  the 
course  on  hygiene.  The  aesthetic  and  moral  sanc- 
tions can  be  brought  forward  in  a  course  in  elemen- 


20      MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

tary  moral  training.  Here  the  duty  of  maintaining 
the  efficiency  of  the  body  by  observing  the  natural 
conditions  of  its  well-being  can  be  presented  as  a 
matter  of  ethical  obligation,  and  as  a  matter  of  de- 
cency and  self-respect,  and  a  serious  effort  to  estab- 
lish the  pupil  in  habits  of  personal  cleanliness  can 
be  made.  And  here,  as  in  the  case  of  other  virtues, 
systematic  training  is  necessary. 

Prudence  and  self-control  in  relation  to  the  bodily 
life  are  also  virtues  which  need  to  be  dealt  with  in 
elementary  moral  training.  They  relate  chiefly  to 
regulation  of  the  bodily  appetites  —  the  appetites 
of  food,  drink,  sleep,  and  sex.  The  appetite  for  food 
is,  of  course,  fundamental.  By  it  the  body  is  sus- 
tained. But  how  it  is  to  be  sustained,  whether  at 
a  high  point  of  efficiency  or  not,  depends  largely  upon 
what  we  eat,  how  much  we  eat,  and  how  we  eat. 
Modern  science  shows  this  to  be  true  in  a  very  im- 
portant sense.  Our  bodily  and  mental  efficiency 
depends  in  a  large  measure  upon  the  quaHty,  quan- 
tity, and  digestion  of  our  food.  Physiological 
chemistry  shows  us  that  there  are  food  values.  Cer- 
tain foods  are  better  adapted  to  promote  the  well- 
being  of  the  body  than  others.  So  that  it  is  not  a 
matter  of  hygienic  indifference,  and  therefore  not  a 
matter  of  moral  indifference,  what  we  eat.  In 
a  very  important  sense  the  German  maxim  is  true : 
Mann  ist  was  Mann  isst,  —  ''Man  is  what  he  eats.'' 


THE   BODILY    LIFE  21 

The  same  thing  is  true  in  regard  to  quantity  of  food. 
According  to  recent  scientific  investigations  the 
average  person  eats  too  much.  The  result  is  that 
waste  products  accumulate  in  the  system.  They 
are  in  a  state  of  fermentation,  and  thus  poison  the 
body  —  impairing  and  weakening  it.  The  organs  of 
nutrition  are  overtaxed,  and  the  organs  whose  func- 
tion it  is  to  eliminate  by-products  are  also  unequal 
to  the  burden  imposed  upon  them.  Thus  the  body 
suffers  and,  with  it,  the  mind  also.  So  that  to  eat 
too  much  is  not  only  an  hygienic  evil,  but  a  moral 
evil  as  well.  It  is  a  sin  against  our  total  life,  for 
our  entire  mental  efficiency  is  conditioned  upon  our 
bodily  well-being. 

Neither  is  the  mastication  of  our  food  a  matter  of 
hygienic  and  moral  indifference.  To  fail  to  have  the 
digestive  work  properly  initiated  in  the  mouth  is  to 
throw  upon  the  stomach  a  burden  that  does  not  prop- 
erly belong  to  it.  The  result  is  that  the  work  of 
digestion  is  not  thoroughly  done,  and  our  bodily 
strength  is  weakened,  and  with  the  weakening  of 
the  bodily  organism  there  is  a  corresponding  impair- 
ment of  mental  and  moral  strength. 

It  is  evident,  then,  that  dietetics  is  an  important 
branch  of  hygiene,  and  it  ought  to  figure  conspicuously 
in  the  school  curriculum.  Since  we  are  under  ob- 
ligations to  moraUze  the  bodily  life,  and  since  the 
supreme  obligation  here  is  to   raise   the   bodily  or- 


2  2      MORAL   TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL    AND    HOME 

ganism  to  its  highest  point  of  efficiency,  it  becomes 
our  duty  to  acquaint  ourselves  with  the  laws  of  hy- 
giene as  they  relate  to  the  food  of  the  body,  and  to 
conform  to  them.  Thus  this  subject  becomes  a  part 
of  morals  also.  It  belongs  to  moral  education  as  well 
as  to  intellectual  culture.  Prudence  and  self-control 
in  regard  to  our  appetite  for  food  are  virtues  which 
must  be  cultivated,  and  the  time  to  cultivate  them 
is  in  early  childhood  and  youth. 

But  these  virtues  ought  also  to  be  practiced  in 
relation  to  our  drinking.  Water,  too,  is  a  funda- 
mental necessity  of  our  bodily  Hfe.  As  in  the  case  of 
food,  so  in  the  case  of  drink,  our  bodily  efficiency  is 
dependent  on  the  quahty  of  the  water  we  drink,  and 
on  the  mode  of  drinking  it.  In  regard  to  the  quality, 
it  is  exceedingly  important  that  the  water  introduced 
into  the  system  be  pure.  As  in  the  food  we  eat, 
and  in  the  air  we  breathe,  so  in  the  water  we 
drink,  disease  microbes  are  often  present.  For  ex- 
ample, water  is  probably  the  most  proHfic  source  of 
typhoid  fever  germs.  So  that  it  is  a  matter  of  vital 
importance  for  us  to  protect  the  body  from  such 
sources  of  danger.  From  a  hygienic  point  of  view 
hardly  anything  is  more  important  to  a  city  than 
its  water  supply.  Citizens  should  guard  it  against 
all  sources  of  pollution,  especially  from  sewage. 
Hence  prudence  here  is  not  only  a  hygienic  obliga- 
tion, but  a  moral  obligation  as  well.     Every  individ- 


THE   BODILY    LIFE  23 

ual  is  under  moral  obligation  to  guard  the  interests 
of  his  own  bodily  life  as  well  as  the  interests  of  the 
bodily  Hfe  of  the  community  from  such  dangers. 
Not  only  the  teacher  of  hygiene,  but  also  the  teacher 
of  morals  in  our  schools,  must  aim  to  cultivate  in  the 
pupil  the  virtue  of  prudence  in  this  respect.  In  this 
relation  it  is  both  a  personal  and  a  social  virtue. 

A  moral  obHgation  extends  also  to  our  mode  of 
drinking  water.  It  is  a  matter  both  of  hygienic  and 
moral  concern  as  to  how  we  drink.  We  should  not 
drink  while  chewing  our  food.  To  do  so  interferes 
with  the  digestive  process,  by  replacing  the  saUva 
whose  oflEice  is  to  moisten  and  soften  the  food.  It 
thus  interferes  with  the  proper  preparation  of  the 
food  for  the  stomach.  This  means  that  it  interferes 
with  digestion,  and  good  digestion  is  absolutely  es- 
sential to  our  highest  physical  well-being.  So  here 
again  the  virtue  of  prudence  becomes  important,  and 
a  course  in  elementary  morals  should  emphasize  the 
virtue  in  this  relation.  Indeed,  it  needs  special  em- 
phasis, for  there  is  hardly  any  law  of  hygiene  more 
frequently  and  flagrantly  violated  by  children  than 
this  one. 

Sleep  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  an  appetite.  It 
is  an  absolutely  necessary  condition  of  the  body's 
maintenance  and  well-being.  Indeed,  every  one's 
bodily  and  mental  efficiency  is  largely  dependent 
upon  it.     During  our  waking  moments  the  brain  is 


24      MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

constantly  active.  It  is  at  work  even  in  our  most 
trivial  employments.  It  is  constantly  expending  its 
energy.  Hence  it  becomes  fatigued  and  needs  rest. 
Sleep  brings  the  rest  necessary  for  saving  and  re- 
newing its  energy.  And  so  it  is  with  the  other  organs 
of  the  body.  Although  more  or  less  active  during 
sleep,  they  are  relatively  at  rest  when  their  activity 
is  compared  with  that  of  our  waking  moments. 
This  results  in  a  saving  and  a  renewing  of  our  bodily 
energy.  When  we  sleep,  we  cease  to  spend  and  de- 
stroy ;    we  save  and  construct. 

Sleep  is  an  important  factor  in  the  growth  and  de- 
velopment of  childhood.  This  being  so,  the  amount, 
soundness,  and  regularity  of  sleep  are  essential  con- 
ditions of  the  body's  welfare,  and  prudence  and  self- 
control  in  this  respect  become  matters  of  hygienic 
value  and  of  ethical  obligation.  In  other  words, 
from  the  moral  standpoint  they  are  virtues,  and  call 
not  only  for  recognition,  but  for  more  than  ordinary 
emphasis  in  every  scheme  of  moral  education ;  for, 
in  view  of  the  vital  importance  of  sleep  in  its  relation 
to  the  child's  physical  and  mental  welfare,  our  care- 
lessness in  regard  to  his  interests  in  this  respect  is 
not  only  a  serious  hygienic  evil,  but  a  moral  evil  as 
well. 

The  school  has  its  duty  to  perform  here.  Many 
parents  are  ignorant  of  the  vital  importance  of  sleep 
for  the  total  well-being  of  the  child,  and,  therefore, 


THE   BODILY   LIFE  25 

flagrantly  violate  the  laws  of  hygiene  in  the  treatment 
of  their  children  in  this  respect.  We  must  raise  up  a 
generation  possessed  of  knowledge,  prudence,  and  self- 
control  in  these  matters,  so  that  not  only  they,  but 
subsequent  generations  also,  may  profit  by  their 
knowledge  and  virtue  :  — 

"We  cannot  say  what  the  mental  and  physical  average 
of  our  race  is  really  capable  of  being  until  we  devote  far 
more  attention  than  any  hitherto  to  the  question  of  sleep 
in  childhood.  It  is  not  only  growth  of  limb  but  also 
growth  and  development  of  brain  that  occurs  during  the 
constructive  period  of  sleep.  To  eat  is  only  to  take  in, 
but  to  sleep  is  to  build."  ^ 

Another  essential  condition  of  bodily  welfare 
which  calls  for  the  exercise  of  prudence  is  proper 
breathing.  We  breathe  from  birth  till  death,  and 
our  physical  well-being  is  conditioned  upon  the  air 
we  breathe,  and  upon  our  mode  of  breathing.  The 
results  of  fresh  and  pure  air  in  the  schoolroom,  com- 
pared with  those  of  a  poorly  ventilated  room,  will  be 
very  apparent.  Dr.  Gulick,  in  his  simple  hygienic 
lesson  to  children,  does  not  exaggerate  the  case  :  — 

"I  can  think,"  he  says,  "of  two  schoolrooms.  In  the 
first  the  children  look  unhappy ;  their  eyes  are  dull  and 
their  cheeks  are  flushed,  though  some  of  them  have  pale 
faces  instead.     Only  a  few  sit  up  straight,  whfle  none  of 

•  Saleeby,  "  Health,  Strength,  and  Happiness,"  New  York,  1908, 
p.  108. 


26      MORAL   TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND    HOME 

them  look  as  if  they  enjoyed  studying.  One  class  is 
reciting  a  spelling  lesson,  and  I  notice  that  several  of  the 
children  miss  the  easiest  words.  In  this  room  the  air  is 
wretched.  I  look  around  and  cannot  see  any  place  for 
fresh  air  to  enter. 

"The  second  room  is  of  the  same  size,  and  although  it 
holds  the  same  number  of  children,  still  everything  here  is 
different.  Both  the  girls  and  the  boys  look  as  if  they  en- 
joyed studying,  most  of  them  are  sitting  up  straight,  their 
eyes  are  bright,  they  do  not  often  miss  the  easy  words, 
and  nobody  looks  cross.  As  might  be  expected,  enough 
fresh  air  is  coming  into  the  room  all  the  time  to  keep  it 
fresh  and  pure."  ^ 

Until  recently  the  explanation  of  the  bad  effects 
of  this  "wretched  air"  on  the  bodily  life  was  that 
they  were  due  to  the  introduction  of  carbon  dioxid 
into  the  system.  Beside  inert  nitrogen  air  contains 
oxygen  and  carbon  dioxid,  one  of  which  is  beneficial 
to  the  body,  the  other  is  not.  In  inhaling  pure 
air,  we  inhale  oxygen ;  when  it  is  exhaled,  it  has  been 
changed  by  the  lungs  into  carbon  dioxid.  When 
we  are  in  a  room  not  properly  ventilated,  there  is  a 
gradual  decrease  of  oxygen  and  an  increase  of  carbon 
dioxid,  which  may  be  harmful.  It  was  formerly,  and 
still  is,  supposed  by  many  that  we  are  poisoned  by  in- 
haling it.  Lately,  however,  this  explanation  has  been 
called  into  question ;  indeed,  it  has  been  rejected  as 
false.     Dr.  Leonard  Hill  and  others  affirm,  on    the 

^  Gulick,  "  Good  Health,"  Boston,  1906,  pp.  6-7. 


THE    BODILY    LIFE  27 

basis  of  experiment,  that  the  evil  results  of  living 
in  stuffy  or  ill-ventilated  rooms  are  due  to  the 
temperature,  dryness,  and  stagnation  of  the  air  rather 
than  to  its  chemical  impurity,  —  to  a  deficiency  of 
oxygen,  and  the  inhalation  of  carbon  dioxid,  and  that 
our  American  school  buildings,  many  of  which  are 
heated  by  hot-air  systems,  are  often  responsible  for 
the  throat  and  respiratory  troubles  of  children.^ 

Whichever  of  these  two  explanations  is  correct, 
the  fact  remains  the  same,  that  poorly  ventilated 
rooms  are  responsible  for  serious  bodily  ills,  and  there- 
fore the  child  should  be  made  acquainted  with  the 
fact,  and  be  taught  the  importance  of  proper  ventila- 
tion. 

And  what  is  true  on  a  large  scale  with  respect  to 
the  schoolroom  is  equally  true  on  a  smaller  scale 
concerning  the  home.  So  that  children  ought  to 
be  made  to  reahze  the  importance  of  good  ventila- 
tion in  the  home,  and  thus  we  shall  raise  up  a  genera- 
tion that  will  observe  hygienic  measures  on  which  the 
physical,  mental,  and  moral  welfare  of  a  people  largely 
depend.  When  we  remember  how  many  children  of 
the  poor  live  in  badly  ventilated  tenements,  and  how 
bodily  disease  is  often  the  result ;  when  we  remember 
how  seriously  such  conditions  affect  the  mental  and 
moral  life  of  the  children  of  the  poor  who  attend  our 
schools,  the  teacher  will  see  at  once  what  an  op- 
^  Hill,  Popular  Science  Monthly,  October,  191 2. 


28      MORAL   TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL    AND    HOME 

portunity  presents  itself  to  the  school  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  bodily  life  of  a  large  element  in  the 
community.  She  will  then  not  only  insist  upon 
knowledge,  but  will  endeavor  to  develop  wisdom  also 
in  the  matter  of  breathing  fresh  air.  Prudence  as  a 
moral  obligation  will  be  cultivated.  An  effort  to 
establish  the  child  in  this  important  virtue  will  be 
made. 

But  there  is  another  aspect  of  this  subject.  Modern 
science  has  made  us  acquainted  with  the  existence  of 
innumerable  microbes  in  the  air,  some  of  which  are 
the  enemies  of  man,  and  which,  when  introduced 
into  the  body  through  breathing,  threaten  its  wel- 
fare, and  often,  indeed,  its  life.  Dangerous  microbes 
frequently  infest  poorly  ventilated  rooms.  So  that 
here  again  the  virtue  of  prudence  becomes  a  necessity 
if  we  would  preserve  our  bodily  efficiency.  Fur- 
thermore, whether  in  the  home  or  out  of  it,  we  are 
constantly  enveloped  in  an  atmosphere  of  dust,  vary- 
ing in  degrees  of  density.  In  this  atmosphere  harm- 
ful microbes  are  often  present.  So  that  the  dust 
cf  streets  should  be  avoided  as  much  as  possible, 
and  great  care  should  be  exercised  not  only  in  keep- 
ing the  house  as  clean  as  possible,  but  also  in  sweep- 
ing carpets,  shaking  rugs,  dusting  furniture,  and 
brushing  clothes.  Carelessness  here  becomes  an  evil 
because  of  the  danger  involved,  and  prudence  becomes 
a    virtue.      The    teacher    should    train    children    to 


THE   BODILY   LIFE  29 

be  on  guard  against  the  vice,  and  to  practice  the 
virtue,  the  opportunity  for  exercising  which  comes 
to  every  one. 

Again,  it  is  not  a  matter  of  indifference  as  to  how 
we  breathe.  The  child  should  not  breathe  through 
his  mouth.  As  a  rule,  the  presence  of  adenoids  will 
probably  be  found  responsible  for  improper  breathing 
of  this  nature.  Where  there  is  medical  inspection 
in  the  schools,  this  will  doubtless  be  attended  to. 
Where  there  is  not  such  inspection,  the  teacher 
should  report  the  matter  to  the  child's  parents. 
There  are  other  forms  of  improper  breathing  which 
will  probably  be  corrected  by  the  teacher  of  hygiene 
or  the  physical  director.  But  when  the  teacher  of 
hygiene  or  the  physical  director  is  not  to  be  found 
in  the  school,  then  the  teacher  herself  should  take 
the  matter  in  hand.  She  should  be  informed  on  the 
subject  of  proper  methods  of  breathing,  and  the 
child  has  a  right  to  the  benefit  of  her  informa- 
tion. Montessori  speaks  of  "the  art  of  breathing," 
and  she  has  adopted  Professor  Sala's  system  of 
respiratory  gymnastics  for  the  purpose  of  devel- 
oping this  "art."  ^  This  matter  is  one  of  vital 
importance  from  a  hygienic  point  of  view,  and,  there- 
fore, the  teacher  of  elementary  morals  must  treat  the 
subject  as  a  matter  of  moral  concern  also. 

'Montessori,  "The  Montessori  Method,"  translated  by  Anne  E. 
George,  New  York,  191 2,  p.  147. 


30      MORAL    TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL    AND    HOME 

Exercise  is  another  essential  of  bodily  welfare,  and, 
as  such,  it  becomes  a  moral  obligation.  There  are 
two  forms  of  exercise :  play  and  physical  labor. 
Both,  properly  indulged  in,  make  for  the  welfare  of 
the  body.  The  teacher  is  primarily  concerned  with 
play.  It  preeminently  belongs  to  childhood  and 
youth.  To-day  the  playground  comes  into  the  cur- 
riculum of  the  school  out  of  the  experience  of  the 
street.  It  has  been  found  so  potent  an  influence 
in  the  hves  of  unprivileged  children  that  the  provid- 
ing of  open  spaces  for  the  purpose  of  supervised  play 
is  becoming  more  and  more  a  part  of  the  business  of 
every  progressive  city.  Many  experiments  have  thus 
been  tried  already,  and  the  results  are  available  for 
use  in  the  schools.  The  idea  of  using  schoolyards 
for  real  playgrounds  is  largely  the  outcome  of  these 
successful  experiments. 

Of  course,  the  schoolyard  has  always  been  a  place 
for  play,  but  it  has  seldom  been  an  attractive  place ; 
hardly  has  it  been  well  adapted  to  purposes  of  rec- 
reation ;  and  still  less  frequently  has  any  serious 
effort  been  made  to  render  by  expert  direction  the 
games  of  the  children  profitable  as  well  as  pleasant. 
The  private  school  has  had  a  great  advantage  in  this 
respect  over  the  public  school.  Indeed,  the  play- 
ground has  thus  far  been  one  of  the  chief  reasons  for 
the  existence  of  the  private  school.  Parents  per- 
ceive that  out-of-door  play  is  a  part  of  the  normal 


THE    BODILY    LIFE  3 1 

life  of  the  child,  and  that  without  it  not  only  the 
physical  but  the  moral  Hfe  is  endangered.  They  per- 
ceive also  that  the  crowded  town  affords  little  oppor- 
tunity for  such  recreation.  Hence  they  send  their 
children  to  schools  which  are  built  in  the  country,  in 
the  midst  of  broad  fields  for  exercise.  The  teaching 
in  the  classrooms  of  these  schools  may  be  no  better 
than  in  the  public  schools,  or  not  so  good,  but  the 
boys  and  girls  get  the  needed  development  which  is 
gained  from  normal  play. 

The  transformation  of  schoolyards  into  playgrounds 
gives  to  the  poor  one  of  the  privileges  of  the  rich. 
This  matter  is  intimately  related  to  morals.  It  is  a 
help  to  good  health,  and  is  thus  an  aid  to  all  good 
living.  It  improves  the  quaUty  of  the  moral  stock ; 
it  gives  the  city  better  citizens. 

The  first  necessity  is  an  enlargement  of  most  school- 
yards to  make  them  big  enough  for  actual  use.  Then 
the  materials  of  amusement  must  be  supphed  in  the 
form  of  swings  and  games,  and  other  opportunities 
for  exercise,  and,  in  charge  of  the  whole,  must  be  a 
director.  The  moral  value  of  the  playground  de- 
pends on  his  wise  supervision.  For  the  games  of 
children  are  to  be  used  not  only  to  amuse  them,  and 
not  only  to  enlarge  their  lungs,  and  straighten  their 
backs,  and  toughen  their  muscles,  but  to  minister 
to  the  betterment  of  character.  They  are  to  carry 
from  their  recreations  not  only  a  knowledge  of  games, 


32      MORAL   TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND    HOME 

;which  must  presently,  in  the  business  of  life,  be  of 
little  use,  but  a  knowledge  of  life  itself,  learned  in  the 
learning  and  playing  of  the  games. 
1  According  to  Groos,  animal  play  is  a  preparation 
for  the  Hfe  the  young  animal  must  lead  later  in  the 
struggle  for  existence.  This  is  true  also  of  the  child, 
however  true  may  be  the  so-called  recapitulatory 
theory  of  play.  It  is  nature's  method  of  preparing 
the  child  for  the  things  he  must  later  work  at  instead 
of  play  at.  It  prepares  him  also  for  the  larger  moral 
Ufe  which  will  be  his  in  the  future.  Aside  from  the 
benefits  to  the  bodily  life  gained  through  play,  the 
playground  is  the  classroom  of  the  social  virtues. 
Children  are  taught,  without  knowing  that  they  are 
learning  lessons,  how  to  get  on  with  their  neighbors. 
They  learn  patience,  and  forbearance,  and  self-re- 
straint, and  to  await  their  turn,  and  to  be  fair  and 
honest,  to  lose  with  good  humor,  and  to  care  for  the 
game  more  than  for  the  prize.  They  perceive  that 
results  are  best  attained  by  combined  effort,  by 
''team  play" ;  they  learn  to  obey,  to  follow  a  leader, 
to  subordinate  themselves.  They  prepare  for  the 
serious  responsibilities  of  life. 

Gymnastics,  too,  are  a  wholesome  form  of  physical 
exercise.  They  partake  both  of  the  nature  of  play, 
and,  as  prescribed  school  exercises,  of  the  nature  of 
work.  They  should  be  encouraged  in  every  school, 
for  they  make  for  the  vitality  and  efficiency  of  the 


THE    BODILY    LIFE  33 

body.  School  authorities  should  provide  opportuni- 
ties and  apparatus  for  systematic  exercise  of  this  kind. 
Such  a  regimen  not  only  has  a  wholesome  physical 
effect,  but  the  order  and  discipline  involved  exert  a 
, moralizing  influence  as  well.  "As  boys  become  in- 
terested in  their  biceps  they  grow  trusty  and  are  more 
likely  to  be  temperate,  to  accept  discipline,  to  be  more 
interested  in  wholesome  regime.  As  muscles  develop, 
the  gap  between  knowing  and  doing  narrows,  and 
motor  mindedness  increases.  There  also  arises  a  sal- 
utary sense  of  the  difference  between  tolerable  well- 
ness, or  mere  absence  of  sickness,  and  an  exuberant 
buoyant  feeling  of  abounding  vitality,  health,  and 
vigor,  which  brings  courage,  hope,  and  right  ambition 
in  its  train,  power  to  undergo  hardship,  do  difficult 
things,  bear  trials,  and  resist  temptation,  while  flabby 
muscles  and  deficiency  of  exercise  give  a  sense  of  weak- 
ness, lust  for  indulgence,  easy  discouragement,  and 
feelings  of  inefficiency."  ^ 

It  is  fortunate,  also,  from  a  moral  point  of  view 
that  manual  training  has  been  introduced  so  largely 
into  our  schools.  It,  too,  is  a  kind  of  physical  exer- 
cise which  makes  for  the  development  of  the  body,  and 
for  this  reason  alone  it  might  be  commended  on  moral 
grounds,  to  say  nothing  here  of  its  value  for  the 
development  of  the  will,  and  its  great  moral  value  in 
developing  certain  virtues  and  in  preparing,  to  a  cer- 

1  Hall,  "  Educational  Problems,"  New  York,  191 1,  Vol.  I,  p.  273, 


34       MORAL    TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL    AND    HOME 

tain  extent,  the  pupils  for  the  vocational  or  eco- 
nomic life.  Here  it  is  sufficient  to  heartily  commend 
manual  training  on  the  ground  of  its  value  for  morals 
because  of  its  salutary-  effect  upon  the  bodily  life. 
It  makes  for  vitality  and  better  physical  develop- 
ment, and,  therefore,  for  greater  physical  efficiency, 
thus  rendering  the  body  a  more  capable  instrument 
in  the  service  of  the  mind. 

In  dealing  with  the  moralization  of  the  bodily  life 
another  virtue  to  be  dealt  with  is  physical  courage. 
Courage  is  often  necessary  for  the  preser\-ation  of  the 
body,  not  only  from  injury,  but  also  from  possible 
death,  and  therefore  it  becomes  a  moral  obligation. 
The  Greeks  greatly  emphasized  this  \'irtue.  Aris- 
totle regarded  courage  as  the  mean  between  coward- 
ice and  foolhardiness.  Physical  courage  moralized  is 
really  rational  self-defense.  Such  courage  is  always 
prudent.  It  guards  the  body  against  surprises  and 
sudden  or  prolonged  attacks. 

"That  man  is  brave,"  says  Paulsen,  "who,  when  at- 
tacked and  in  peril,  neither  blindly  runs  away  nor  rushes 
into  danger,  but  retaining  his  composure,  carefully  and 
calmly  studies  the  situation,  quietly  deliberates  and  de- 
cides, and  then  carries  out  his  resolution  firmly  and 
energetically,  whether  it  be  resistance  and  attack,  or  de- 
fense and  retreat.  Prudence,  therefore,  constitutes  an 
essential  part  of  valor."  ^ 

•  Paiilsen,  "  A  System  of  Ethics,"  translated  by  Thilly,  New  York, 

1900,  p.  496. 


THE    BODILY    LIFE  35 

It  is  well  for  the  teacher  to  develop  this  virtue  in 
children.  They  ought  to  be  taught  to  endure  pain 
patiently  and  courageously ;  to  meet  danger  fear- 
lessly, but  cautiously.  In  this  way  they  not  only 
render  a  valuable  service  to  the  body,  but  also  to  the 
soul.  Its  value  for  social  service  is  often  seen  in  the 
golden  deeds  of  heroism  on  the  part  of  children,  which 
constitute  a  glorious  page  in  the  annals  of  the  race, 
and  in  that  martial  courage  which  is  the  expression  of 
patriotic  loyalty  to  the  state,  and  which,  later  in  life, 
they  may  be  called  upon  to  exercise,  and  for  which 
the  early  cultivation  of  courage  prepares  the  way. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE  BODILY  LIFE  (continued) 

In  relation  to  alcoholic  stimulants,  temperance 
is  a  form  of  self-control  and  prudence  with  reference 
to  the  bodily  hfe  that  should  receive  special  con- 
sideration at  the  hands  of  the  school  because  of  its 
vital  relation  to  the  interests  of  the  individual,  and  of 
society.  So  callous  do  we  seem  to  be  to  the  awful 
social,  economic,  and  moral  effects  of  its  opposite  — 
the  vice  of  intemperance  —  that  it  really  seems 
as  though  it  might  be  better  to  approach  the  moral 
aspects  of  the  subject  through  hygiene.  For  children, 
at  least,  acquaintance  with  the  evil  effects  of  alcohol, 
and  of  an  intemperate  use  of  it,  on  the  bodily  organ- 
ism may  prove  to  be  the  most  effective  means  of 
introducing  them  to  the  higher  moral  considerations 
involved.  To  this  end  it  is  well  for  the  teacher  of 
elementary  morals  to  cooperate  with  the  teacher  of 
hygiene,  —  the  one  dealing  primarily  with  the  scien- 
tific aspects  of  the  subject,  and  the  other  more  es- 
pecially with  the  moral  aspects  as  involved  in  the 
facts  disclosed  by  science. 

The  effects  of  alcohol  on  the  bodily  organism  are 
36 


THE    BODILY    LIFE  37 

SO  deleterious  that  it  is  not  difficult  to  develop  in  the 
large  majority  of  pupils  a  moral  attitude  against  its 
use  as  a  beverage  by  man.  Metchnikoff  has  shown 
how  its  effect  upon  the  white  cells  of  the  blood  — 
the  so-called  leucocytes  or,  as  he  calls  them,  the 
phagocytes  or  eating  cells,  the  natural  protectors 
of  the  body  —  is  to  diminish  their  power  of  resistance 
against  the  attacks  of  the  unfriendly  microbes  of  in- 
fectious diseases.  The  function  of  the  white  cells  is 
to  weaken  and  destroy  these  disease  germs.  Like 
soldiers,  they  rush  to  the  front  in  cases  of  inflamma- 
tion and  fight  the  enemies  of  the  body.  They  eat 
them  up.  Thus  they  are  our  friends,  and  alcohol  is 
our  enemy,  for  it  weakens  their  fighting  powers ;  it 
lessens  the  power  of  resistance  of  these  minute  friends 
that  live  in  the  blood. 

Science  also  calls  attention  to  the  deleterious  effects 
of  alcohol  on  the  brain.  It  affects  for  the  time  being 
the  higher  brain  centers  which  have  to  do  with  self- 
control  ;  also  to  its  bad  effects  on  the  nervous  system, 
as  well  as  to  its  ill  effects  in  weakening  our  powers  of 
endurance  of  heat  and  cold.  It  is,  also,  either  directly 
or  indirectly,  responsible  for  nearly  one  half  of  the 
cases  of  insanity  that  burden  the  race. 

It  is  evident  from  all  this  that  a  most  serious  indict- 
ment can  be  brought  against  alcohol  in  its  relation  to 
the  bodily  organism.  It  makes  against  its  vitality, 
health,  and  efficiency ;    it  is  an  enemy  of  our  bodily 


38      MORAL   TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL    AND    HOME 

life.  It  would  seem  from  a  hygienic,  and  therefore 
from  a  moral,  point  of  view,  that  not  only  temperance, 
but  abstinence  also  is  a  moral  obligation.  And  when 
wc  add  to  all  this  the  terrible  indictment  against 
intemperance  that  comes  from  criminology,  —  an  in- 
dictment that  makes  alcohol  responsible  for  more 
than  half  of  the  crimes  against  society,  —  it  is  evident 
that  temperance  is  a  virtue  that  should  be  taught  in 
the  schools.  There  should  be  no  compromise  here 
or  lack  of  moral  courage  on  the  part  of  the  school. 
Intemperance  is  a  most  serious  sin  against  body  and 
mind,  and  a  terrible  sin  against  society.  Indeed,  it 
is  an  evil  of  such  magnitude  against  society  that  to 
bring  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go  with  refer- 
ence to  the  virtue  of  temperance  alone  would  almost 
justify  a  course  in  elementary  hygiene  and  morals. 

In  regard  to  the  deleterious  effects  of  the  use  of 
tobacco  on  the  bodily  organism,  there  is  such  a  differ- 
ence of  opinion  that  it  is  hard  to  treat  the  matter  with 
accuracy.  But  while  this  is  true  with  reference  to  its 
effects  on  adults,  there  seems  to  be  a  pretty  general 
consensus  of  opinion  on  the  part  of  students  of  hygiene 
in  regard  to  the  effect  of  cigarette  smoking  on  children. 
It  is  afi&rmed  that  the  poison  of  the  nicotine  in  cigar- 
ettes weakens  the  action  of  the  heart,  irritates  the 
nerves,  and  retards  physical  growth  and  develop- 
ment. Many  school  principals  m^ake  it  responsible 
for  mental  inefficiency,  which  in  many  cases  leads  to 


THE    BODILY    LIFE  39 

truancy,  and  truancy  often  leads  to  crime,  all  of  which 
is  doubtless  due  originally  to  the  ill  effects  of  nicotine 
on  the  body.  If  this  be  true,  then  abstinence  with 
reference  to  cigarette  smoking  on  the  part  of  boys  is 
to  be  taught  as  a  virtue,  and  the  schools  have  a  great 
responsibility  here.  School  principals  affirm  this  to 
be  an  evil  of  no  small  proportion  among  pupils,  — 
to  be  found  in  many  instances  even  among  children 
of  the  fourth  grade  of  our  schools,  and,  indeed,  some- 
times among  those  of  the  third  grade.  Because  of 
its  baneful  effects  upon  the  bodily  Ufe,  and  its 
general  demorahzing  influence,  it  should  be  seriously 
dealt  with  in  elementary  courses  in  hygiene  and 
morals. 

Self-control  in  the  regulation  of  sexual  appetite 
is  another  essential  condition  of  bodily  welfare,  which, 
because  of  its  vital  relation  to  morality,  calls  for 
special  consideration  in  the  moral  training  of  children 
and  youth. 

A  difficult  problem  confronts  us  when  we  deal  with 
moral  training  in  its  relation  to  sex.  We  have  only 
recently  waked  up  to  the  tremendous  importance  of 
this  aspect  of  moral  education.  The  merging  of 
childhood  into  youth,  and  of  youth  into  young  man- 
hood and  womanhood,  are  in  many  respects  the  most 
important  periods  in  the  history  of  a  human  being, 
and  the  mental,  moral,  and  spiritual  interests  involved 
are  simply   momentous.     Psychological    and   educa- 


40      MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

tional  science  is  now  devoting  earnest  effort  to  the 
study  of  the  phenomena  of  adolescence.  Profound 
physical  and  mental  changes,  fraught  with  moral 
significance,  occur  in  the  life  of  the  individual,  and 
their  nature  and  meaning  ought  to  be  understood,  not 
only  by  the  scientist,  but  by  the  teacher,  parent,  and 
children  as  well.  Appalling  ignorance  on  this  sub- 
ject has  heretofore  reigned  supreme ;  and  a  fatal 
modesty  has,  as  a  rule,  kept  parents  and  teachers 
from  imparting  what  knowledge  they  have  to  children 
who  have  a  right  to  know.  As  a  result,  many  children 
have  been  seriously  injured,  and  many  have  been 
lost  bodily,  mentally,  and  morally  because  of  their 
ignorance.  What  rational  excuse  can  be  given  for 
withholding  from  children  that  which  they  have  a 
right  to  know  because  of  its  vital  relation  to  their 
total  welfare  ?  A  modesty  that  will  keep  children 
ignorant  on  such  a  vital  subject  is  not  only  false,  but 
it  partakes  of  moral  recreancy.  Any  one  truly  and 
intelligently  interested  in  the  moral  welfare  of  society 
should  not  oppose  a  judicious,  but  frank  dealing 
with  this  problem. 

From  the  standpoint  of  elementary  moral  education 
the  problem  is,  How  should  this  important  matter  of 
sex  be  dealt  with  ?  Nothing  is  to  be  gained,  but  much 
is  to  be  lost,  by  allowing  the  boy  or  girl  to  remain 
in  ignorance  concerning  the  facts  of  sex  consciousness, 
and  their  vital  significance.    It  is  a  prerequisite  of  the 


THE   BODILY   LIFE  4I 

best  moral  results  that  they  should  be  enlightened 
on  this  subject.  And  the  first  question  that  arises 
is,  When?  Instruction  along  these  lines  must  be 
carefully  adapted  to  each  period  of  the  child's  devel- 
opment. In  the  light  of  recent  investigations  these 
periods  may  be  more  or  less  definitely  determined, 
and  our  instruction  may  be  regulated  accordingly. 
In  regard  to  the  years  from  one  to  six,  the  child  is, 
as  a  rule,  under  the  parents'  care  —  being  especially 
under  the  guidance  of  the  mother.  Every  mother 
should  be  informed  on  the  subject  of  the  proper  care 
of  her  child's  body.  In  the  large  majority  of  cases 
such  information  must  be  brought  to  the  mother. 
Much  might  be  done  to  secure  this  result  by  organizing 
mothers'  meetings  in  school  districts,  to  be  addressed 
by  the  teacher  of  biology  in  the  schools,  if  such  there 
be,  or  by  a  careful,  tactful,  and  sympathetic  physician, 
who  might  be  invited  to  give  a  series  of  simple  talks 
to  parents.  Such  meetings  should  be  held  under  the 
direction  of  the  schools,  or  of  mothers'  clubs,  many 
of  which  have  been  organized  in  our  cities,  or  of  par- 
enthood clubs,  which  might  be  organized  by  social 
settlements  or  by  churches.  Sex  instruction,  as  it 
bears  on  the  first  six  years  of  childhood,  should  be 
part  of  a  general  course  given  to  mothers  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  bodily  care  of  children.  It  would  consist 
largely  of  explaining  to  the  mother  the  dangers  that 
may  arise  from  placing  her  child  under  the  care  of  an 


42       MORAL   TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL    AND    HOME 

ignorant  or  perverted  nurse,  and  in  giving  information 
as  to  how  to  deal  with  the  child's  questions  in  regard 
to  his  own  origin.  Such  questions  are  not  infrequently 
asked  by  children  at  this  time  of  Hfe.  Expert  opin- 
ion regards  it  wise  not  to  ignore  the  questions,  or  to 
give  false  rephes.^ 

The  years  from  six  to  twelve  are,  of  course,  a  much 
more  important  period  in  the  child's  Ufe.  During 
these  years  we  have  the  immediately  preadolescent 
period,  as  well  as  the  dawn  of  adolescence.  The  vi- 
tal importance  of  these  years  cannot  be  exaggerated, 
and  they  bring  a  very  solemn  obligation  to  those  who 
are  responsible  for  children  during  this  period.  Sex 
instruction  in  the  immediately  preadolescent  period 
should  not  impart  knowledge  of  relations  between 
the  sexes.  It  should  concern  itself  merely  with  the 
child's  relations  to  himself,  protecting  him  against 
e\al  habits  that  involve  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  his 
sexual  nature.  The  ravages  of  such  habits  are  so 
serious  ^  that  this  duty  cannot  conscientiously  be 
shirked  by  those  responsible  for  the  child's  welfare. 
Warning  ought  to  be  given  to  the  child  against  an 
evil  that  threatens  his  bodily,  mental,  and  moral 
welfare.  Such  instruction  and  warning  should  not  be 
confined  to  the  preadolescent  period,  but  should  be 

1  Cf.  Report  of  the  Special  Committee  on  the  Matter  and  Methods 
of  Sex  Education,  New  York,  191 2,  p.  5. 

*  Cf.  Hall,  "Adolescence,"  New  York,  1904,  Vols.  I  and  II. 


THE    BODILY    LIFE  43 

repeated  in  the  first  years  of  adolescence,  and  the 
moral  as  well  as  the  hygienic  restraints  should  be 
made  use  of. 

But  the  important  question  arises  here,  By  whom 
should  such  instruction  be  given  ?  Naturally  the 
parent  is  the  person  upon  whom  this  obligation  rests. 
But  we  are  here  confronted  by  the  fact  that  a  large 
majority  of  parents  are  not  qualified  to  deal  intelli- 
gently with  the  subject ;  also  by  the  fact  that  many, 
whether  qualified  or  not,  fail  to  meet  their  obligations 
in  this  respect.  Because  of  this  situation,  the  duty 
falls  upon  the  schools,  and  they  should  not  fail  to 
measure  up  to  their  responsibiHty. 

But  how  should  the  schools  deal  with  the  problem  ? 
Here  again  they  might  deal  with  it  through  district 
mothers'  meetings,  in  which  mothers  might  be  in- 
structed by  competent  and  sympathetic  physicians. 
But  such  instruction  of  mothers  would  not  prove 
sufficient.  Only  a  limited  number  would  attend  the 
meetings,  and  many  of  those  who  did  attend  would 
fail  to  act  in  accordance  with  their  knowledge.  This 
necessitates  deahng  directly  with  the  boy  and  girl. 
Either  the  medical  inspector  of  schools,  where  there 
is  one,  or  the  teacher  of  biology  in  schools  that  em- 
ploy one,  should  perform  this  delicate  task.  In 
schools  where  neither  medical  inspector  nor  teacher 
of  biology  are  to  be  found,  it  would  be  advisable  to 
invite  physicians  of  standing  to   undertake  such  in- 


44      MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

struction.  If  this  be  impossible,  then  the  obhgation 
devolves  upon  the  teacher  herself. 

But  how  should  such  instruction  be  given?  Co- 
education exists  in  schools.  Furthermore,  even  if 
this  were  not  the  case,  the  question  arises  whether 
such  instruction  should  be  given  in  pubHc.  On  the 
whole,  private  instruction  seems  to  be  the  best  method 
of  handling  this  important  and  delicate  subject. 

But  there  should  be  more  formal  sex  instruction 
during  the  later  years  of  this  period  from  six  to  twelve. 
This  should  be  given  in  connection  with  the  course  in 
biology.  The  subject  of  plant  life  lends  itself  ad- 
mirably to  this  purpose.  The  recommendations  on 
this  point,  included  in  the  Report  previously  referred 
to,  are  wise,  and  may  be  quoted  here  to  advantage  :  — 

"There  should  be  given,  during  the  years  of  later  child- 
hood, including  the  remaining  years  of  the  ordinary 
elementary  school  course,  a  carefully  planned  series  of 
lessons  on  reproduction  in  plants  as  a  part  of  the  course 
in  nature  study.  The  child  should  be  made  to  understand 
the  function  of  root,  leaf,  flower,  and  seed ;  the  different 
modes  of  scattering  seeds ;  the  various  methods  of  fertili- 
zation and  the  necessity  of  fertilization,  and  he  should  be 
led  up  to  the  generalization  that  plant  life  always  springs 
from  plant  life. 

"In  like  manner  a  series  of  lessons  on  reproduction 
in  animal  life  below  mammals  should  be  given,  making 
use  of  familiar  animals.  The  origin  of  the  chick,  the 
fish,  and  the  frog  from  the  egg,  and  the  metamorphosis 


THE   BODILY   LIFE  45 

of  the  frog ;  the  origin  of  insects  and  their  metamorphoses ; 
and,  finally,  the  necessity  for  fertilization ;  —  these  might 
form  the  chief,  general  topics  of  such  a  series  of  lessons. 

"The  aim  should  be,  so  far  as  specific  sex  instruction  is 
concerned,  to  impress  deeply  the  mind  of  the  child  with 
the  beautiful  and  marvelous  processes  of  nature  by  which 
life  is  reproduced  from  life,  both  in  the  plant  world  and 
in  the  animal  world.  It  is  not  necessary,  and  in  most 
cases  not  desirable,  that  children  should  make  applica- 
tion of  this  knowledge  to  reproduction  in  man  before  the 
beginning  of  adolescence  further  than  the  human  infant 
is  developed  within  the  mother.  But  such  instruction  on 
reproduction  in  nature  will  create  the  background  of  knowl- 
edge which  will  afterward  invest  reproduction  in  the 
higher  animals  and  in  man  with  a  significance  and  a 
dignity  not  otherwise  attainable;  and  what  is  equally 
important,  it  will  create  the  right  emotional  attitude  to- 
ward human  reproduction  and  prepare  the  child's  mind 
to  appreciate  its  sacredness."  ^ 

In  addition  to  all  this,  however,  children  of  this 
period  should  be  put  through  a  kind  of  regimen. 
They  should  have  opportunities  and  faciHties  for 
physical  exercise.  Supervised  play  is  helpful.  It 
not  only  directly  contributes  to  the  bodily  efficiency 
of  boys  and  girls,  but  it  acts  also  as  a  preventive 
in  regard  to  sex  evils.     It  also  shields  them  from  per- 

'  Report  of  the  Special  Committee  on  the  Matter  and  Methods 
of  Sex  Education,  New  York,  191 2,  pp.  6-7.  Although  this  Report 
contains  very  little  that  is  new  it  tends  to  confirm  much  of  the  best  that 
has  been  said  on  the  subject.  We  have  in  the  main  followed  their 
program  with  reference  to  sex  education. 


46      MORAL    TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND    HOME 

verting  influences  of  social  surroundings.  Prophy- 
laxis in  sex  hygiene  is  as  desirable  as  it  is  in  medicine. 
The  last  two  years  of  elementary  education  are 
exceedingly  important  in  their  bearing  on  the  problem 
of  sex  education.  A  large  majority  of  the  children 
of  our  pubhc  schools  fail  to  pursue  school  life  beyond 
the  eighth  grade.  Many  go  into  hfe  after  their  four- 
teenth year  as  breadwinners.  If  they  are  to  receive 
systematic  instruction  in  regard  to  the  relation  of  the 
sexes,  it  must  be  given  in  most  instances  before  they 
leave  the  schools.  And  such  instruction  should  be 
given.  It  is  therefore  necessary  for  the  schools  to 
make  provision  for  it.  For  here,  as  in  the  other  aspects 
of  sex  education,  and  for  the  same  reasons  as  stated 
above,  we  must  depend  on  the  schools  rather  than  on 
the  home  for  adequate  instruction.  Here,  again,  the 
instruction  should  be  given,  if  possible,  by  the  teacher 
in  biology.  Of  course,  reproduction  would  constitute 
the  chief  subject  for  consideration.  The  following 
program  is  suggested  by  the  Special  Committee  on 
the  Matter  and  Methods  of  Sex  Education :  — 

"During  the  early  adolescent  period,  approximately  from 
the  age  of  twelve  to  sixteen,  reproduction  in  plants  and 
in  animals  below  the  mammal  should  be  more  extensively 
studied,  and  the  wonderful  variety  of  modes  of  fertiliza- 
tion, especially  in  plants,  be  emphasized.  It  is  important 
to  make  the  pupil  acquainted  with  a  wide  range  of  facts, 
in  order  to  impress  his  mind  with  the  wondrous  beauty 


THE    BODILY    LIFE  47 

of  nature's  provision  for  the  perpetuation  of  life,  the  aim 
being  always  ethical  as  well  as  scientific  and  hygienic. 

"With  this  background  of  knowledge,  reproduction  in 
mammals  may  be  taken  up.  The  teaching  ought  now  to 
impress,  with  many  illustrative  facts,  the  generalization 
that  animal  life  comes  from  the  ovum.  (The  more  accurate 
formulation  may  be  left  until  later.)  Fertilization  in 
mammals  should  now  be  taught,  and  this  should  by  natu- 
ral steps  lead  up  to  reproduction  in  man.  The  simplest 
facts  in  regard  to  heredity  should  now  be  taught,  and  their 
applications  be  made  to  human  life.  The  pupil  will  then 
be  in  a  position  to  understand  the  significance  of  sexual 
morality,  and  to  be  impressed  with  the  dangers  to  health 
and  morals  of  abnormal  sexual  habits.  Specific  instruc- 
tion in  regard  to  sexual  morality  will  now  be  especially 
effective. 

"As  girls  mature  from  a  year  to  a  year  and  a  half 
earlier  than  boys,  they  should  receive  such  instruction 
somewhat  earlier,  and  emphasis  should  be  laid  upon  in- 
struction in  regard  to  the  special  care  of  their  health 
at  the  change  of  life  called  puberty."  ^ 

A  difficulty,  however,  presents  itself  here  that  the 
Report  of  the  Committee  referred  to  above  does  not 
explicitly  deal  with,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  last  years 
of  elementary  education.  Attention  has  been  called 
to  the  fact  that  a  large  majority  of  boys  and  girls 
leave  our  public  schools  after  they  have  finished  their 
work  in  the  grammar  grades.  These  adolescents  should 

*  Report  of  the  Special  Committee  on  the  Matter  and  Methods  of 
Sex  Education,  pp.  7-8. 


48      MORAL    TRAINING   IN    THE    SCHOOL    AND    HOME 

receive  adequate  instruction  in  regard  to  the  nature 
and  dangers  of  venereal  diseases.  This  matter  is  so 
important  that  instruction  cannot  be  postponed  to  later 
years.  Who  will  furnish  instruction  to  the  majority 
of  our  pupils  who  leave  the  schools  between  the  ages 
of  fourteen  and  sixteen?  Were  the  large  majority 
of  pubhc  school  children  to  continue  their  education 
through  the  high  schools  instead  of  dropping  out 
after  completing  their  elementary  course,  considera- 
tion of  this  aspect  of  sexual  relations  might  be  safely 
and  profitably  postponed  as  belonging  more  properly 
to  secondary  education.  But  the  situation  being 
what  it  is,  we  must  reckon  with  the  majority  who 
leave  the  schools  at  the  close  of  the  elementary  period. 
Hence,  just  as  in  the  preadolescent  years  we  prepare 
the  child  for  the  adolescent  period,  so  here,  though  it 
may  seem  rather  early  to  some,  we  are  under  obhga- 
tion  to  prepare  the  pupils  of  the  grades  for  the  im- 
portant years  that  follow.  And  the  instruction  should 
be  most  impressive.  It  should  serve  as  a  powerful, 
restraining  influence  in  the  future  life  of  the  pupil. 

In  many  instances  the  instruction  in  the  class  in 
biology  might  be  supplemented  by  several  talks  by 
a  conscientious  and  tactful  physician.  His  voice 
on  the  pathology  of  sex  would  probably  carry  with 
it  the  weight  of  professional  authority.  This  would 
be  more  Kkely  to  impress  boys  and  girls  than  the 
authority   of   the    teacher   of   biology,    because   the 


THE   BODILY    LIFE  49 

physician  is  constantly  dealing  in  a  practical  way  with 
disease.  Of  course,  a  female  physician  should  be 
invited  to  give  such  instruction  and  warning  to  girls, 
and  a  male  physician  to  boys. 

The  foregoing  views  are  not  in  accord  with  those 
advocated  by  a  recent  writer  on  the  sex  problem. 
Dr.  Foerster,  of  the  University  of  Zurich,  still  advo- 
cates the  old  plan  of  reticence  on  this  subject.  He 
would  trust  to  the  development  of  a  kind  of  spiritual 
mastery  in  the  boy  and  girl  that  will  enable  them  to 
"  keep  the  body  under "  when  adolescence  dawns, 
and  as  it  progresses.  This  spiritual  mastery  is  to  be 
attained  through  a  "  species  of  will-gymnastics." 
He  says :  — 

"  The  outstanding  feature  of  sexual  education  should 
not  be  an  explanation  of  the  sex  functions,  but  an  intro- 
duction to  the  inexhaustible  power  of  the  human  spirit 
and  its  capacity  for  dominating  the  animal  nature  and 
controlling  its  demands. 

"  When  young  people  have  learned  to  appreciate  the 
joy  of  such  spiritual  mastery,  they  have  attained  the 
highest  possible  immunity  from  sexual  temptations.  I 
have  often  found  pleasure  in  telling  boys  entering  their 
teens  the  story  of  Achilles  —  how  his  mother  brought  him 
up  among  girls,  dressed  as  a  girl,  so  that  he  might  not 
have  to  go  to  Troy  with  the  other  Greek  youths;  but 
Ulysses  had  the  war  trumpet  blown  before  the  palace 
gates,  when  the  maidens  all  fled  terrified  at  the  noise, 
while  the  young  Achilles  immediately  felt  for  his  sword. 
In  the  same  manner,  a  boy  of  character  will  not  show 


50      MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

himself  a  coward  when  the  animal  impulses  first  make 
themselves  felt,  but  will  at  once  take  to  arms  and  realize 
that  an  opportunity  has  been  given  him  to  prove  and 
perfect  his  courage. 

"  Young  people  are  practically  never  deaf  to  such  an 
appeal.  They  are  more  than  ready  to  receive  Nietzsche's 
words:     *  Do  not  cast  aside  the  heroic  in  thy  soul! ' 

"  In  addition,  I  should  like  to  say  that  this  species  of 
will-gymnastics  seems  to  me  to  be  quite  as  essential  in 
the  education  of  girls  as  in  that  of  boys,  and  for  the 
special  reason  that  in  the  woman's  case  it  is  necessary  to 
work  against  the  tendency  towards  a  life  of  one-sided 
emotionalism.  It  is  only  by  a  training  of  the  will  that  a 
real  education  of  the  emotional  life  can  be  accomplished. 
Regular  practice  in  the  controUing  of  bodily  conditions 
and  outward  distractions  prepares  the  way  for  a  mastery 
of  the  emotions  and  for  their  noblest  development;  it 
enables  them  to  become  independent  of  external  circum- 
stances, of  whims  and  moods,  and  to  acquire  concentra- 
tion, force,  and  endurance.  Such  will-training  protects  a 
woman  from  the  dangers  which  arise  from  her  impul- 
siveness and  suggestibihty."  ^ 

Much  of  this  is  true.     But  an  essential  part  of  the 

development  of  such  spiritual  mastery  in  the  child 

is  knowledge  of  himself.     If  he  be  informed  on  the 

nature  of  the  sex  functions,  and  of  the  consequences 

of  their  abuse,  he  will  be  more  able  to  develop,  and 

better   prepared  to    exercise,  that    spiritual    control 

which  is  so  desirable  and  so  necessary. 

^  Foerster,  "  Marriage  and  the  Sex  Problem,"  trans,  by  M. 
Booth,  N.  Y.,  1912,  pp.  177-178, 


THE    BODILY   LIFE  5 1 

To  all  this  biological  and  hygienic  instruction  must 
be  added  the  moral  restraints  as  well.  The  scientific 
instruction  prepares  the  way  for  an  impressive  moral 
lesson.  It  is  well  to  call  attention  to  the  duty  of 
raising  the  bodily  organism  to  the  highest  point  of 
efficiency  as  it  conditions  all  other  efficiency,  —  men- 
tal, social,  aesthetic,  moral,  and  religious.  He  who 
violates  the  laws  of  his  bodily  organism  sins  not 
only  against  his  bodily  nature,  but  against  his  whole 
being,  as,  by  so  doing,  he  reduces  its  total  efficiency. 
Again,  the  individual  must  be  made  to  reahze  that 
he  does  not  live  unto  himself  alone  —  that  he  is  re- 
sponsible to  others  for  the  use  of  his  energies.  Weak- 
ness on  his  part  entails  weakness  on  the  part  of  others 
who  may  be  his  offspring.  The  moral  aspects  of  the 
case  ought  to  be  especially  brought  out  with  pupils 
of  the  eighth  grade.  They  are  then  old  enough  to 
profit  by  it.  In  all  this  the  direct  method  must,  on 
the  whole,  be  used.  It  may  be  greatly  supplemented 
by  the  use  of  the  indirect  method  when  we  reach 
secondary  moral  education. 

In  concluding  these  chapters  on  the  bodily  life, 
let  us  recall  that  cleanliness,  self-control  and  pru- 
dence in  the  regulation  of  all  the  bodily  appetites, 
and  in  our  breathing  and  sleeping ;  also  exercise,  phys- 
ical courage,  and  temperance  —  these  are  the  virtues 
relating  to  the  bodily  life  that  we  should  teach  children 
both  in  the  home  and  in  the  school.     And  we  should 


52       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

guard  them  against  their  opposites,  —  the  corre- 
sponding vices.  This  should  be  done,  not  merely 
incidentally,  as  occasion  arises,  but  systematically. 
A  careful  study  of  their  relation  to  different  periods 
of  the  child's  growth  and  unfolding  should  be  made, 
and  then,  by  systematic  culture,  we  should  seek  to 
estabhsh  children  in  these  important  virtues  and  to 
teach  them  to  shun  the  bodily  vices.  Systematic 
training  by  the  indirect  method  (except  in  the  in- 
stances mentioned  above)  is  best  adapted  to  meet 
the  ends  sought  by  the  parent  and  teacher  in  this 
respect,  and  a  graded  scheme  of  virtues  and  vices  to 
be  dealt  with  is  here  suggested  (p.  53). 

As  a  final  word  let  it  be  said  that  few  parents  and 
teachers  fully  appreciate  the  vital  relationship  be- 
tween a  wholesome  bodily  condition  and  sound  morals, 
and,  as  a  consequence,  moral  culture  sufi'ers.  As  a 
well-known  student  of  education  has  recently  said : 
"We  do  not  begin  to  utihze  the  culture  of  health 
as  the  basis  of  morals  as  we  should  do,  because 
we  do  not  realize  that  their  relation  is  so  intimate  as 
at  many  points  to  be  entirely  identical.  Body-keep- 
ing with  the  young  can  and  should  be  made  almost 
a  religion ;  and  most  of  the  worst  sins  and  errors  of 
youth  are  in  no  way  more  effectively  forefended 
than  by  high  ideals  and  a  vigorous  cult  of  personal 
and  social  hygiene.  Indeed,  Plato  thought  he  could 
not  teach  an  invahd  morals  because  if  he  had  not 


THE   BODILY   LIFE  55 


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54        MORAL   TRAINING    IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

learned  the  art  of  body-keeping,  still  less  could  he 
discipline  his  soul."  ^ 

It  is  imperative  that  we  should  impress  the  child 
not  only  with  the  importance,  but  also  with  the 
dignity  and  sacredness  of  the  body.  In  a  hcentious 
age  Paul  called  the  attention  of  the  early  Christians 
to  the  fact  that  their  bodies  were  the  temples  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  This  was  a  superb  appeal  for  a  proper 
treatment  of  the  body.  But  it  should  not  require  a 
religious  appeal  to  excite  in  our  minds  a  conception 
of  the  dignity  and  sacredness  of  the  bodily  organism. 
Our  bodies  are  the  temples  of  our  own  ghosts,  — 
our  own  spirits,  —  and  they  ought  to  reflect  or  sym- 
bolize the  highest  hfe  of  the  soul.  Beauty  and  grace 
of  spirit  are  to  find  expression  in  beauty  and  grace 
of  body.  This  doubtless  was  the  thought  of  Socrates 
when  he  uttered  that  wonderful  prayer  recorded  in 
the  "  Pheedrus,"  —  "Beloved  Pan,  and  all  ye  other 
gods  who  haunt  this  place,  give  me  beauty  in  the  in- 
ward soul,  and  may  the  outward  and  inward  man  be 
at  one." 

Li  her  efforts  to  establish  pupils  in  the  virtues  of 
the  bodily  life  the  teacher  will  find  the  following  stories 
helpful :  — 

"Billy,  Betty,  and  Ben  as  Soldiers,"  "When  Betty 
Closed  the  Windows,"  "A  Brave  Boy,"  "The  Prince  and 

1  Hall,  "Educational  Problems,"  New  York,  191 1,  Vol.1,  pp 
273-274. 


THE    BODILY   LIFE  55 

the  Lions,"  and  "Foolish  Fear,"  from  The  Golden  Ladder 
Book,  Golden  Rule  Series  (The  Macmillan  Company,  New 
York,  19 13). 

"The  Invaded  City,"  "Feigned  Courage,"  "The  Wolf 
and  the  Fox,"  "Tending  the  Furnace,"  "The  Camel's 
Nose,"  "A  Brave  Scot,"  "Red  Stars  and  Black,"  "The 
School  Picnic,"  and  "The  Greedy  Antelope,"  from  The 
Golden  Path  Book,  Golden  Rule  Series. 

"The  Choice  of  Hercules,"  from  The  Golden  Door  Book, 
Golden  Rule  Series. 

"The  Apostle  of  the  Lepers"  and  "Billy's  Football 
Team,"  from  The  Golden  Key  Book,  Golden  Rule  Series. 

"Father  William,"  "Billy's  Prize  Essay,"  "The  Disen- 
thralled," and  "The  Priest  and  the  Mulberry  Tree,"  from 
The  Golden  Word  Book,  Golden  Rule  Series. 

"The  Loss  of  the  Ocean's  Pride,''  "A  Bard's  Epitaph," 
and  "The  Boy  and  the  Cigarette,"  from  The  Golden  Deed 
Book,  Golden  Rule  Series. 

"Three  Ways  to  Build  a  House,"  from  Tales  of  Laughter;' 
by  Kate  Douglas  Wiggin   and  Nora  Archibald   Smith. 
"Cleanliness,"  by  Charles  and  Mary  Lamb.     "The  Little 
Coward,"  by  Ann  and  Jane  Taylor.     "The  Leak  in  the 
Dike,"  by  Phoebe  Cary. 

Charles  Kingsley's  "  Water  Babies,"  Chapter  I.  "The 
Influence  of  a  Clean  Face,"  by  Thomas  DeWitt  Talmage,  in 
Prose  Every  Child  Should  Know,  edited  by  Mary  E.  Burt. 
"The  Little  Bat  who  wouldn't  go  to  Bed,"  from  Among 
the  Forest  People,  by  Clara  D.  Pierson.  "The  Rat  and 
the  Oyster,"  from  The  Talking  Beasts,  by  Kate  Douglas 
Wiggin  and  Nora  Archibald  Smith.  The  Story  of  King 
Arthur,  from  Bulfinch's  Age  of  Chivalry. 

"  Friends  and  Foes,"  from  Down  to  the  Sea,  by  Wilfred  T. 


56       MORAL  TRAINING   IN  THE   SCHOOL  AND  HOME 

Grenfell.  "Looking  out  for  the  Men  Ashore,"  from  The 
Harvest  of  the  Sea,  by  Wilfred  T.  Grenfell.  "Circe's 
Palace,"  from  Hawthorne's  Tanglewood  Tales.  "Why  he 
Failed,"  from  Stepping  Stones  to  Manhood,  by  William  P, 
Pearce. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   INTELLECTUAL   LIFE 

Of  all  institutions  that  have  to  do  with  child  life 
the  school  is  the  one  primarily  in  charge  of  his  intel- 
lectual training.  We  are  intellectual  beings,  with 
capacities  to  know,  and  the  school  exists  chiefly  to 
develop  them.  It  is  the  child's  duty  to  acquire  knowl- 
edge. It  is  a  duty  that  he  owes  to  himself  as  well  as 
to  others.  According  to  Professor  Adler,  the  teacher 
can  best  lead  him  to  a  recognition  of  this  duty  by 
showing  him  that  knowledge  is  a  means  to  nearly 
all  the  ends  which  men  aim  at.  This,  he  says,  might 
be  illustrated  first  by  calling  attention  to  the  mere 
material  ends  of  life  —  how  in  the  effort  to  provide 
for  our  most  immediate  wants,  such  as  those  of  the 
body,  the  man  of  knowledge  has  the  advantage  over 
the  man  of  ignorance.  He  who  knows  how  to  do 
things  succeeds  where  he  who  is  ignorant  fails.  The 
child  in  the  upper  grades  at  least  is  sufficiently  self- 
centered  to  appreciate  that  which  will  prove  an  ad- 
vantage to  himself  in  the  struggle  for  existence  await- 
ing him,  hence  it  is  well  to  emphasize  the  advantages 
of  knowledge  and  the  handicaps  of  ignorance. 

But  gradually  the  higher  interests  of  the  child  can 

57 


58        MOIL\L   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

be  appealed  to  —  the  social  interests.  Knowledge 
is  a  means  to  social  recognition  and  position.  The 
child  soon  learns  that  he  is  not  to  be  merely  a  bread- 
winner; that  other  possibilities  are  open  to  him  by 
virtue  of  his  social  nature.  As  he  matures  he  grows 
sensitive  to  social  appreciation,  and  he  finds  that 
knowledge  is  a  means  to  social  esteem  and  distinction. 
Ignorance  is  usually  rewarded  with  contempt,  or  at 
best  with  a  pity  that  humihates  its  object.  Further- 
more, at  an  age  when  the  child  is  in  the  upper  grades 
of  school,  he  begins  to  realize,  in  a  more  or  less  pro- 
nounced manner,  some  at  least  of  the  joys  of  knowl- 
edge —  joys  that  constitute  in  themselves  a  sufficient 
reward  for  the  labor  of  acquiring  it.  And,  finally,  as 
he  approaches  middle  adolescence,  when  the  al- 
truism of  his  nature  is  very  manifest,  the  service 
that  knowledge  will  enable  him  to  render  to  others 
can  be  used  as  an  appeal  to  encourage  him  to  serious 
effort  in  its  acquisition.'  In  short,  the  more  the  child 
can  be  made  to  reahze  the  truth  of  Bacon's  famous 
maxim  :  Knowledge  is  Power  —  no  matter  from  what 
standpoint  we  view  it  —  power  which  makes  in  every 
way  for  the  highest  self-reahzation,  both  of  the  in- 
dividual and  society,  the  more  will  he  take  a  moral 
attitude  toward  its  acquisition. 

In  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  certain  habits  of 

1  Compare  Adler,  "The  Moral  Instruction  of  Children,"  New 
York,  1901,  pp.  182-184. 


THE   INTELLECTUAL   LIFE  59 

will  and  forms  of  conduct  are  necessary  for  the  best 
results.  When  viewed  from  the  moral  standpoint, 
they  become  virtues.  It  is  the  function  of  the  teacher 
of  elementary  morals  to  establish  the  pupil  in  these 
virtues.  To  this  end  she  must  know  what  they  are, 
something  about  their  nature,  and  how  they  can  best 
be  developed  in  the  child. 

The  first  virtue  which  naturally  suggests  itself  is 
industry.  Nothing  of  consequence  to  the  intellectual 
life  can  be  accomphshed  without  this  cardinal  virtue. 
Systematic  application  of  the  child's  intellectual 
powers  to  attain  a  knowledge  of  the  subject  matter 
with  which  he  is  dealing  is  essential  to  success.  It  is 
very  important  that  the  teacher  should  begin  in  the 
beginning  to  develop  in  the  child  the  power  of  sys- 
tematic and  steady  application  as  against  sporadic 
effort.  And,  in  doing  this,  a  fundamental  law  of  the 
mind  will  greatly  assist  her  in  her  work.  This  law 
is  the  law  of  human  interest.  This  interest  must  be 
maintained  and  increased.  It  must  be  converted  into 
voluntary  interest.  If  we  can  genuinely  interest  the 
child  in  the  subject  with  which  we  desire  him  to  be 
concerned,  industry  will  follow  naturally.  This  is  a 
psychological  law  which  the  teacher  must  recognize, 
and  so  far  as  she  ignores  it  her  efforts  will  not  prove 
fruitful.  To  develop  such  interest  it  is  necessary  to 
make  the  lesson  attractive  —  it  must  be  in  some 
manner  pleasing.     Now  if  the  matter  of  industry  is 


6o        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

to  be  brought  before  the  child  as  a  moral  obligation, 
it  should  be  presented  here  also  in  an  interesting  man- 
ner. The  advantages  and  rewards  of  industry,  and 
the  disadvantages  and  penalties  of  indolence,  as  men- 
tioned above,  should  be  brought  to  his  attention  in  a 
manner  that  will  appeal  to  the  child,  and  what  better 
method  can  we  adopt  than  the  story  method  ?  Every 
child  dehghts  in  stories  of  achievement,  and  to  read 
or  tell  stories  of  rewarded  labor  and  of  punished  in- 
dolence on  the  part  of  children,  will  not  fail  to  interest 
them  and  to  lead  them  to  practice  this  prime  virtue 
of  the  intellectual  Hfe. 

A  second  important  virtue  of  the  intellectual  life 
is  accuracy.  Accurate  perception,  accurate  memo- 
rizing, accurate  thinking,  accurate  reasoning,  and  ac- 
curate speaking  are  necessary  for  the  best  intellectual 
development.  If  one  of  the  ends  of  such  develop- 
ment is  knowledge  of  the  truth,  such  accuracy,  of 
course,  is  an  essential  condition.  This  matter  should 
be  made,  as  far  as  possible,  not  merely  an  intellectual 
obligation  with  the  pupil,  but  a  moral  obhgation  as 
well.  It  is  a  matter  of  honesty  with  himself  and  honesty 
with  others  —  hence  it  is  not  a  matter  of  moral  indif- 
ference. Indeed  the  teacher  will  find  that  a  training 
of  the  child  in  intellectual  accuracy,  or  an  indulgence 
of  the  child  in  intellectual  inaccuracy,  will  have  an 
important  influence  on  his  moral  nature.  Intellec- 
tual accuracy  is  closely  related  to   truthfulness  and 


THE   INTELLECTUAL   LIFE  6l 

honesty;    and  intellectual  inaccuracy  is  closely  re- 
lated to  falsehood  and  dishonesty. 

But  how  shall  this  virtue  of  accuracy  be  cultivated  ? 
The  teacher  should  call  attention  to  the  serious  con- 
sequences of  inaccuracy  by  having  the  class  read  some 
story  of  real  life,  such  as  the  wreck  of  a  railroad  train, 
with  its  loss  of  Ufe,  due  to  the  inaccuracy  of  the  man 
who  framed  the  time  schedule,  or  to  the  inaccuracy 
of  a  telegraph  operator,  or  of  a  train  dispatcher. 
Or,  a  story  involving  serious  loss  in  financial  matters, 
due  to  inaccurate  calculation,  may  be  used.  Or,  to 
bring  the  subject  a  little  closer  home  to  the  pupil  — 
especially  the  very  young  pupil  —  a  story  of  the  loss 
of  a  school  prize  because  of  inaccurate  work.  The 
rewards  and  honors  of  accuracy  must  be  emphasized 
in  similar  manner.  In  the  upper  grades  the  impor- 
tance of  accuracy  should  be  especially  dwelt  upon; 
for,  since  the  large  majority  of  pupils  enter  upon 
their  vocational  life  after  leaving  the  elementary 
schools,  the  significance  of  intellectual  accuracy  in  all 
industrial  and  commercial  life  can  be  presented  at 
this  time  with  excellent  effect.  The  primary  aim  of 
intellectual  development  is  the  acquisition  of  knowl- 
edge, and  inaccurate  knowledge  is  a  paradox  —  it 
is  not  knowledge  at  all  —  it  makes  against  knowl- 
edge. Error  is  the  result  of  inaccuracy,  and  error 
is  a  serious  intellectual  evil  which  is  often  closely  re- 
lated to  moral  evil. 


62        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

In  dealing  with  inaccuracy  the  teacher  will  find 
that  it  is  often  due  to  another  evil,  namely,  careless- 
ness. In  some  respects,  indeed,  it  is  a  form  of  care- 
lessness. Such  carelessness  easily  becomes  habitual 
and  should  be  vigorously  taken  in  hand  by  the 
teacher.  It  should  be  corrected,  not  merely  as  an 
intellectual  expediency,  but  as  a  moral  obligation  as 
well. 

Thoroughness,  though  closely  related  to  accuracy, 
differs  from  it.  One  may  be  accurate  as  far  as  he 
pursues  a  subject  and  yet  not  be  thorough  in  deahng 
with  it.  Thoroughness  leads  to  mastery  of  a  subject, 
and  of  course  is  a  prime  virtue  of  the  intellectual  life. 
The  child  should  be  taught  to  master  the  lesson  as- 
signed him.  If  he  be  once  convinced  that  knowledge 
is  power,  as  explained  above,  it  is  easy  to  show  him 
that  thorough  knowledge  is  still  greater  power;  it 
will  be  easier  to  lead  him  to  an  appreciation  of  the 
moral  attitude  toward  this  intellectual  quaHty,  and 
he  will  soon  see  the  value  and  obUgation  of  thorough- 
ness as  a  virtue,  and  the  evil  consequences  of  its  op- 
posite. According  to  the  old  adage:  "What  is 
worth  doing  at  all  is  worth  doing  well;"  and  if  the 
pupil  sees  the  advantage  of  so  doing,  and  the  dis- 
advantages of  the  opposite,  the  teacher's  task  in  cul- 
tivating this  virtue  in  her  pupil  will  be  greatly  Kght- 
ened.  Well-selected  stories  will  assist  her  greatly 
in  accomplishing  this  end. 


THE    INTELLECTUAL   LIFE  63 

Perseverance  is  another  requisite  in  the  intellectual 
life.  The  child  is  often  easily  discouraged.  Fre- 
quently the  task  is  hard,  or  it  is  more  or  less  unpleas- 
ant, and  it  requires  persistent  effort  to  accomphsh  it. 
To  develop  in  the  child  a  spirit  of  perseverance  is 
part  of  the  work  of  the  teacher  of  elementary  morals. 
To  strengthen  the  child's  resolution  to  conquer  dif- 
ficulties —  to  overcome  obstacles  —  this  is  part  of  her 
office.  The  child  should  be  encouraged  to  persist  by 
calUng  his  attention  to  the  deUghts  of  triumph,  the 
glory  of  victory,  the  rewards  of  success.  "To  the 
persevering  mortal  the  blessed  Immortals  are  swift, " 
said  Zoroaster.  But  not  only  do  the  Immortals 
honor  him,  but  mortals  also  bestow  on  him  their  ap- 
proval and  esteem.  These  are  among  the  sweetest 
rewards  of  perseverance,  and  the  child  will  be  in- 
fluenced by  them.  The  moral  aspects  of  perseverance 
will  soon  be  perceived  by  him  under  such  circum- 
stances. Splendid  examples  of  men,  women,  and 
children  who  have  succeeded  through  perseverance  — 
not  only  in  the  intellectual,  but  also  in  other  spheres 
of  human  activity  —  are  available  for  the  develop- 
ment of  this  virtue  in  the  child. 

Patience  is  necessary  for  persistence  as  well  as  for 
the  realization  of  other  intellectual  virtues.  Michael 
Angelo  once  said  that  genius  is  infinite  capacity  for 
taking  pains.  Some  capacity  for  taking  pains  is 
necessary  for  any  genuine  intellectual  work,  and  this 


64        MORAL   TRAINING   IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

means  that  we  must  have  patience.  In  the  child's 
desire  to  reaHze  immediate  results  he  often  grows 
impatient.  He  doesn't  like  to  bother  with  the  means, 
time,  and  effort  necessary  to  accomphsh  his  task. 
A  short  cut  is  his  preference.  But  a  short  cut  to  the 
goal  is  often  impossible,  and  the  child  must  be  devel- 
oped in  patience  with  slow  progress  and  in  deaUng 
with  hard  and  sometimes  not  altogether  agreeable 
tasks.  Here  again,  in  endeavoring  to  cultivate  a  moral 
attitude  toward  this  important  requisite  in  the  in- 
tellectual hfe,  the  teacher  must  have  due  regard  to 
the  child's  interests.  If  she  can  pleasantly  relate 
this  virtue  to  the  child's  work  by  pointing  out  its 
bearings  on  the  interests  which  he  highly  prizes,  and 
the  interests  which,  in  his  further  development,  he 
will  prize  still  more,  then  the  child  will  respond 
more  readily  to  the  demands  for  patience  which  his 
immediate  work  makes  upon  him. 

Self-reliance  will  be  recognized  at  once  by  the 
teacher  as  another  virtue  of  paramount  importance  in 
developing  the  intellectual  hfe  of  the  child.  Child- 
hood is  a  period  of  dependence,  and  from  birth,  for 
many  years,  the  child  is  largely  dependent  upon  others 
for  much  that  concerns  his  fundamental  interests. 
This  develops  a  tendency  to  rely  upon  others  in  mat- 
ters in  which  he  is  capable  of  helping  himself.  It  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  in  the  difficulties 
which  he  encounters  in  school  in  his  efforts  at  self- 


THE   INTELLECTUAL   LITE  65 

development,  under  the  guidance  of  the  teacher,  when 
he  confronts  a  difficult  task  that  he  should  resort 
to  the  teacher,  or  to  his  more  proficient  schoolmates, 
for  help.  This  tendency  is  so  marked  and  wide- 
spread among  children  that  its  correction  becomes  a 
serious  problem.  No  child  should  be  allowed  to  go 
through  school  constantly  leaning  on  others  for  sup- 
port. If  there  be  no  other  way  of  curing  him  of  his 
dependence,  he  should  be  shamed  out  of  it  if  possible. 
Self-reliance  is  such  a  necessary  virtue  that  the  teacher 
can  afford  to  put  forth  special  effort  to  cultivate  it 
in  the  child.  We  can  largely  measure  the  individual's 
success  or  failure  in  every  walk  in  Life  by  means  of 
this  virtue.  "Welcome  evermore  to  gods  and  men 
is  the  self-helping  man.  For  him  all  doors  are  flung 
wide.  Him  all  tongues  greet,  all  honors  crown,  all 
eyes  follow  with  desire."  These  words  of  Emerson 
are  really  not  extravagant,  and  the  teacher  in  teach- 
ing the  child  to  form  the  habit  of  self-reliance  should 
show  to  him  that  they  are  true.  Especially  in  the 
upper  grades  such  a  presentation  of  the  virtue  as 
illustrated  in  the  lives  of  self-rehant  men  and  women, 
not  only  in  intellectual  pursuits,  but  in  others  also, 
cannot  fail  to  have  a  salutary  effect.  Short  bio- 
graphical sketches  of  self-reliant  men  will  prove  very 
effective  in  dealing  with  this  virtue. 

Love  of  truth  is  a  virtue  that  ought  to  be  developed 
in  all,  but  it  pertains  more  especially  to  more  mature 


66        MORAL   TRAINING   IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

years  than  to  those  with  which  we  are  dealing.  How- 
ever, even  here,  and  especially  in  the  upper  grades,  it 
might  be  fittingly  dealt  with.  Children  are  partisans 
and  dogmatists.  Their  partisanship  is  strong,  and 
their  dogmatism  instinctive  and  naive.  Attention 
should  be  called  to  the  dangers  to  our  intellectual 
Kfe  of  prejudice  and  unwarranted  assumption.  It 
can  be  shown  how  this  frequently  leads  us  into  error, 
which  of  course  is  opposed  to  one  of  the  chief  ends 
we  aim  at  in  intellectual  development,  namely,  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth.  Prejudice,  even  in  the  child, 
is  often  so  subtle  that  it  is  not  an  easy  vice  to  deal 
with,  but  the  fact  that  it  exists  more  or  less  in  all 
should  not  be  overlooked,  and  it  is  well  for  the  teacher 
to  treat  of  it,  not  merely  as  an  intellectual  fault,  but 
also  as  a  moral  fault  —  a  vice. 

But  finally,  knowledge  is  not  an  end  in  itself,  — 
it  is  a  means  to  an  end,  —  and  the  ultimate  end  is 
the  highest  well-being  of  the  individual  and  society. 
So  that  another  virtue  belongs  to  the  intellectual  Hfe, 
and  that  virtue  is  wisdom.  Wisdom  is  the  right  use 
of  knowledge  —  such  as  will  make  for  the  realization 
of  the  highest  good.  It  is  not  the  gift  of  the  gods,  but, 
like  other  virtues,  it  is  an  acquisition  — a  develop- 
ment. It  is  the  result  of  reflection  and  discipline. 
We  don't  look  for  much  wisdom  in  the  child,  for  he 
naturally  acts  with  reference  to  immediate  rather  than 
ultimate  ends.     So  that  wisdom  is  preeminently  a 


THE   INTELLECTUAL   LIFE  67 

virtue  of  maturer  years,  and,  in  its  stricter  meaning, 
can  hardly  be  dealt  with  except  in  the  upper  grades. 
But  we  can  at  least  teach  the  child  that  knowledge  is 
power  to  be  used  for  worthy  ends  —  for  such  good 
ends  as  pertain  to  the  bodily,  social,  moral,  and  spiritual 
welfare  of  himself  and  society,  and  in  doing  this  we 
must,  of  course,  represent  these  ends  in  the  most 
concrete  manner  possible,  and  in  accordance  with  in- 
terests as  they  bear  on  his  life  at  the  particular  period 
with  which  we  are  deahng.  Examples  of  wise  and 
fooKsh  action  should  be  used  in  dealing  with  this  vir- 
tue and  its  opposite. 

In  dealing  with  the  virtues  of  the  intellectual  life 
the  following  graded  scheme  of  virtues  and  vices 
(p.  68)  will  be  found  helpful. 

The  following  list  of  stories  may  be  used  in  this 
connection :  — 

"To  Mother  Fairie,"  "The  Cat  and  the  Fox,"  "Daffy- 
do  wn-dilly,"  "How  Audubon  Came  to  Know  About 
Birds,"  "The  Ant  and  the  Cricket,"  "Climbing  Alone," 
"Work,"  "The  Little  Spider's  First  Web,"  "  Little  by 
Little,"  and  "The  Story  of  a  Sea  Gull,"  from  The  Golden 
Ladder  Book. 

"The  Black  Prince  at  the  Battle  of  Crecy,"  "The  Village 
Blacksmith,"  "The  Snail  and  the  Rose  Tree,"  "The 
Cadmus  of  the  Blind,"  "The  Builders,"  "Haarlem's 
Boy  Hero,"  "Waste  Not,  Want  Not,"  "Blunder,"  and 
"Sir  Lark  and  King  Sun,"  from  The  Golden  Path  Book. 

"The  School  Children's  Friend,"  "The  Waste  Collec- 


68        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 


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THE   INTELLECTUAL   LITE  69 

tor,"  "Ben  Franklin's  Wharf,"  "Columbus,"  "The  Ants 
and  the  Grasshopper,"  "  Industry  of  Animals,"  "  Napoleon 
and  the  Alps,"  "Arachne,  the  Boastful,"  "A  Scottish 
Champion,"  "Buckwheat,"  "Pietro  da  Cortona,"  "Little 
Franz's  Last  Lesson,"  and  "Miles  Standish,"  from  The 
Golden  Door  Book. 

"  Find  a  Way,or  Make  It,"  "Louis  Pasteur,"  "  Little 
Daffydowndilly,"  "  Robert  Fulton,"  "  The  Lion  and  the 
Cub,"  and  "  Jean  Louis  Rodolphe  Agassiz,"  from  The 
Golden  Key  Book. 

"The  Glove  and  the  Lions,"  "Two  Kings,"  "Lady 
Clare,"  and  "If  I  were  a  Voice,"  from  The  Golden  Word 
Book. 

"A  Bard's  Epitaph,"  "Ozymandias,"  and  "The  Great 
Stone  Face,"  from  The  Golden  Deed  Book. 

"The  Industrious  Mannikins,"  by  Grimm.  "The  Two 
Gardens,"  by  Ann  Taylor.  "The  Pot  of  Gold,"  from 
Children's  Classics  in  Dramatic  Form,  Book  II,  by  Augusta 
Stevenson.  "The  Magpie's  Nest,"  from  Tales  of  Laughter. 
"The  Nail,"  by  Grimm.  "How  Benny  West  Learned  to 
Be  a  Painter,"  and  "The  India-rubber  Man,"  from  Stories 
oj  Great  Americans,  by  Edward  Eggleston.  "The  Hill," 
from  The  Golden  Windows,  by  Laura  E.  Richards.  Story 
of  Bruce  and  the  Spider. 

"How  the  Camel  Got  His  Hump,"  from  Just  So  Stories, 
by  Rudyard  Kipling.  Grimm's  "The  Spindle,  the  Needle, 
and  the  Shuttle."  Story  of  Prometheus,  Chapter  VII 
of  The  Water  Babies.  "Boots  and  his  Brothers,"  from 
Folk  Stories  and  Fables,  arranged  by  Eva  March  Tappan. 
"The  Water  Lily,"  from  Stories  Told  to  a  Child,  by  Jean 
Ingelow.  ^sop's  "The  Hare  and  the  Tortoise."  Story 
of  Helen  Keller.     "The  Monkey  and  the  Cat,"  from  The 


70       MOR.\L   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

Talking  Beasts.  "The  Boot-black  from  Ann  Street," 
from  James  Baldwin's  American  Book  of  Golden  Deeds. 

"  Chin-Chin  Kobakama,"  from  Tales  of  Laughter.  "The 
King  and  his  Three  Sons,"  in  Stories  from  the  Classic  Litera- 
ture of  M  any  Lands ,  edited  by  Bertha  Palmer.  "The  Sailor 
Man,"  from  The  Golden  Witidows.  "The  Eagles,"  from 
William  J.  Long's  Wilderness  Ways^  p.  104.  "A  Lincoln 
Story,"  by  U.  S.  Grant,  in  Prose  Every  Child  Should  Know. 
Longfellow's  "Excelsior."  "Gradatim,"  by  Oliver  Wen- 
dell Holmes.  "The  King  and  his  Hawk,"  in  Fifty  Famous 
Stories  Retold,  by  James  Baldwin.  "The  Brave  Martinel," 
from  Charlotte  M.  Yonge's  Book  of  Golden  Deeds. 

Story  of  the  Doasyoulikes,  Chapter  VI  of  The  Water 
Babies.  "Prince  Vi\den  and  Princess  Placida,"  from 
Andrew  Lang's  Green  Fairy  Book.  Story  of  Sir  Thomas 
More.  "Lady  Eleanore's  Mantle,"  by  Nathaniel  Haw- 
thorne. "The  Fool's  Prayer,"  by  Edward  Roland  Sill. 
"Wise  Work,"  in  Selections  from  Ruskin,  published  by 
Edwin  Ginn.  "The  Watering  of  the  Saplings,"  in  Stories 
from  the  Classic  Literature  of  Many  Lands. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   SOCIAL   LIFE    (tHE   FAMILy) 

We  are  by  nature  social  beings,  and,  as  such, 
we  sustain  a  variety  of  relations  to  others  constituted 
like  ourselves.  We  are  not  like  the  famous  Crusoe, 
alone  on  an  island,  working  out  our  destiny  regardless 
of  our  fellows.  We  are  born  into  society,  and  from 
birth  till  death  we  are  hemmed  in  by  a  network  of 
social  relations.  All  these  relations  come  under  the 
moral  ideal,  and  are  subject  to  moral  law.  Hence, 
duties  in  the  social  sphere  are  as  manifold  and  com- 
plex as  social  relations  themselves.  It  is  in  this 
sphere  that  we  find  our  largest  field  of  moral  activity. 

Certain  institutions  are  the  outgrowth  of  our  social 
nature,  such  as  the  family,  the  school,  and  the  com- 
munity organized  under  custom  and  law.  We  realize 
our  largest  life  and  our  best  self  through  these  institu- 
tions. With  one  or  more  we  are  in  constant  inter- 
action, and  these  interactions  are  governed  by  moral 
law.  They  involve  moral  obligations.  In  other 
words,  duty  is  associated  with  all  our  family,  school, 
and  community  life. 

In  treating  of  morals  in  the  social  sphere  it  is  well 
71 


72       MORAL  TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL  AND   HOME 

to  follow  the  natural  order.  The  child  is  born  into 
the  family,  and  his  first  interactions  are  with  father 
and  mother,  with  sister  and  brother.  Certain  moral 
obhgations  grow  out  of  these  relations,  the  observance 
of  which  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  best  develop- 
ment of  the  family  as  well  as  for  the  best  development 
of  the  individual,  such  as  obedience,  truthfulness, 
honesty,  courtesy,  love,  etc.  Indeed,  the  family 
could  not  exist  at  all  without  reaHzing,  to  some  degree 
at  least,  these  obligations.  The  corresponding  vices 
make  for  its  destruction. 

The  family  is  a  great  moral  institution,  and  its  value 
for  the  ideahzation  or  moraHzation  of  society  cannot 
be  overestimated.  It  is  here  that  the  individual  learns 
his  first  moral  lessons,  and  is  thus  prepared  for  the 
larger  social  and  moral  life  of  the  school,  the  commu- 
nity, and  the  state.  7  Tt  is  here,  for  example,  that  he 
first  becomes  conscious  of  the  existence  of  laws  that 
govern  human  action,  and  is  counseled  and  warned 
to  conform  to  them.  For  a  time  the  parents'  com- 
mand is  law  to  his  will.  He  learns  the  lesson  of 
obedience,  and  when  he  emerges  from  the  family 
into  the  community,  he  is  in  a  measure  prepared  to 
obey  the  commands  of  the  community  which  come  to 
him  in  the  form  of  conventions  and  customs,  and 
also  those  of  the  state,  which  come  to  him  in  the  form 
of  statutes  or  laws.  And  as  obedience  to  his  parents' 
command  gradually  takes  on  more  and  more  of  a 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE  73 

moral  character,  the  way  is  prepared  for  the  child's 
recognition  of  obedience  to  social  custom  and  to  civil 
and  poUtical  laws,  not  merely  as  a  matter  of  compul- 
sion or  necessity,  but  as  a  matter  of  moral  obKgation. 
And  what  is  true  of  the  obligation  of  obedience  is 
practically  true  of  all  other  social  obhgations.  The 
child's  moral  relations  to  the  family  prepare  him  for 
his  moral  relations  to  society. 

One  of  the  fundamental  virtues  belonging  to  the 
first  class  is  obedience.  The  parent  is  both  the  natural 
and  legal  guardian  of  the  child.  As  such  he  is  re- 
sponsible for  its  well-being.  To  this  end  his  will  be- 
comes law  to  the  child,  and  it  is  the  child's  duty  to 
obey.  It  is  unfortunate  that,  in  the  imperfect  state 
of  society,  the  parents'  will  is,  in  so  many  instances, 
unworthy.  Still,  until  the  child  reaches  a  certain  age 
^nd  a  certain  state  of  maturity,  it  is,  on  the  whole, 
his  duty  to  obey.  This  age  and  state  hardly  occurs 
within  the  age  limits  of  the  elementary  school  grades. 
Hence  this  virtue  may  be  categorically  affirmed  in 
dealing  with  children.  It  is  absolutely  essential 
to  the  existence  of  the  home.  There  could  be  no 
home  without  it.  More  or  less  unity  and  harmony 
are  necessary  to  constitute  a  home.  This  means  that 
law  must  prevail,  and  the  law  is  the  parents'  will. 
Disobedience  to  it  means  lawlessness,  and  gross  and 
constant  disobedience  means  social  chaos  or  anarchy 
within  the  precincts  of  the  home.      Such  fiUal  obe- 


74       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

dience  is  an  important  factor  in  the  child's  moral  un- 
folding. It  develops  self-control,  a  most  essential 
virtue,  as  we  have  already  seen  in  considering  the 
moralization  of  the  bodily  hfe,  and  the  more  worthy 
the  parents'  commands,  the  sooner  is  obedience  fol- 
lowed by  respect  and  reverence  for  the  law  and  the 
lawgiver,  respect  that  is  highly  desirable,  and  the 
development  of  which  should  become  one  of  the  ends 
aimed  at  by  parent  and  teacher.  Furthermore,  as 
already  observed,  a  training  in  family  obedience  pre- 
pares the  child  for  a  larger  and  most  vital  obedience 
in  his  interaction  with  the  school,  community,  and 
state.  It  makes  for  good  citizenship  —  for  the 
practice  and  love  of  social  order.  So  also  does  it  pre- 
pare the  way  for  that  period  of  development  in  youth 
when  the  individual  awakens  to  the  consciousness  that 
he  is  a  lawgiver  unto  himself  —  when,  in  the  maturer 
exercise  of  his  functions  as  a  moral  personaHty,  he 
evaluates  ideals  of  conduct,  imposes  them  upon  him- 
self as  laws  to  his  will.  In  dealing  with  the  moraUty 
of  the  family  in  elementary  moral  training,  then, 
fihal  obedience  is  a  virtue  that  requires  special  con- 
sideration. 

It  ought  not  to  be  such  a  difi&cult  matter  to  secure 
obedience  on  the  part  of  the  child  as  it  sometimes 
proves.  By  virtue  of  his  race  connection  the  child  is 
predisposed  to  obey.  As  far  back  as  we  can  trace 
the  history  of  man  he  has  existed  under  some  form 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE  75 

of  organized  life,  which  means  that  he  has  been  subject 
to  command  or  law.  The  child  has  this  background 
of  the  race  as  a  kind  of  inheritance,  and  therefore 
he  comes  into  being  with  a  predisposition  to  obey. 
Referring  to  Dr.  Montessori,  Dorothy  Canfield 
Fisher  says  :  — • 

"She  tells  us  just  as  forcibly  that  the  children  prefer 
right,  orderly,  disciplined  behavior  to  the  unregulated 
disobedience  which  we  slanderously  insist  is  their  natural 
taste.  As  a  result  of  her  scientific  and  unbiased  obser- 
vation of  child  life  she  informs  us  that  our  usual  lack  of 
success  in  handling  the  problems  of  obedience  comes  be- 
cause, while  we  do  not  expect  a  child  at  two  or  three  or 
even  four  to  have  mastered  completely  even  the  elements 
of  any  other  of  his  activities,  we  do  expect  him  to  have 
mastered  all  the  complex  muscular,  nervous,  mental, 
and  moral  elements  involved  in  the  act  of  obedience  to 
a  command  from  outside  his  own  individuality. 

"  She  points  out  that  obedience  is  evidently  a  deep-rooted 
instinct  in  human  nature,  since  society  is  founded  on 
obedience.  Indeed,  on  the  whole,  history  seems  to  show 
that  the  average  human  being  has  altogether  too  much 
native  instinct  to  obey  any  one  who  will  shout  out  a  com- 
mand ;  and  that  the  advance  from  one  bad  form  of  govern- 
ment to  another  only  sUghtly  better  is  so  slow  because 
the  mass  of  grown  men  are  too  much  given  to  obeying 
almost  any  positive  order  issued  to  them.  Going  back 
to  our  surprised  recognition  of  the  child  as  an  inheritor  of 
human  nature  in  its  entirety ,we  must  admit  that  obedience 
is  almost  certainly  an  instinct  latent  in  children. 

"The  obvious  theoretic  deduction  from  this  reasoning  is, 


76        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

that  we  need  neither  persuade  nor  force  a  child  to  obey, 
but  only  clear-sightedly  remove  the  various  moral  and 
physical  obstructions  which  lie  in  the  way  of  his  obedience 
with  the  confident  expectation  that  his  latent  instinct  will 
develop  spontaneously  in  the  new  and  favorable  condi- 
tions." 1 

Another  fundamental  virtue  of  family  life  is  truth- 
fulness. No  family  could  exist  on  the  basis  of  a  lie. 
Truth  is  necessary  to  hold  human  society  together 
in  any  kind  of  relation  that  is  worth  while.  Truth 
in  speech,  truth  in  action,  "truth  in  the  inward  parts," 
—  these  must  be  developed  in  the  child,  and  this  is  no 
easy  task.  It  is  often  diflScult  to  determine  what  is 
really  a  lie  in  the  child's  conduct.  Our  moral  train- 
ing ought  to  rest  upon  a  careful  study  of  the  psy- 
chology of  children's  lies.  The  teacher  should  study 
the  psychology  of  fancy  as  it  functions  in  the  child ; 
of  illusions,  of  make-believe,  or  the  tendency  to 
dramatic  action  so  characteristic  of  children.  This 
will  at  least  save  her  from  what  is  too  often  a  severe 
and  unjust  judgment  in  regard  to  the  child.^  She 
should  also  carefully  consider  the  pathology  of  lying, 
which  will  increase  our  charitableness.  But  after  we 
have  made  all  allowance  for  what  may  not  really  be 

1  Fisher,  "A  Montessori  Mother."  New  York,  1912,  pp.  159,  160. 

2  The  teacher  should  read  the  remarks  on  children's  lies  in  Sully's 
"Studies  in  Childhood,"  New  York,  1890,  p.  251  f.,  and  in  Hall's 
"  Educational  Problems,"  Vol.  I,  Chapter  VI,  a,nd  the  literature  to 
which  they  refer. 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE  77 

regarded  as  lying,  children  do  lie  in  a  really  ethical 
sense,  and  often  with  amazing  ease  and  unconcern. 
So  that  the  matter  of  truth  telKng,  which  is  so  vital 
to  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the  family,  should  be 
tactfully  but  vigorously  dealt  with. 

The  subject  of  truthfulness  will  be  more  fully  dis- 
cussed in  the  chapters  dealing  with  the  morals  of  the 
school  and  the  community.  So  far  as  the  teacher 
deals  with  this  virtue  as  it  relates  to  the  family,  she 
cannot  be  too  careful.  The  best  method  here  is  the 
indirect  method.  Let  the  children  read  stories  of 
family  hfe,  which  bring  out  the  rewards  of  truthful- 
ness and  the  penalties  of  lying,  and  let  the  teacher 
be  sure  that  every  child  thoroughly  apprehends  the 
import  of  such  stories.  She  should  also  try  to 
strengthen  the  impression  made  by  narrating  one  or 
more  stories  of  a  character  similar  to  those  read  in 
the  class. 

Honesty  is  a  third  virtue  which  relates  to  the  moral 
life  of  the  family.  It  is  closely  related  to  truthful- 
ness, and  much  that  has  been  said  about  the  one  ap- 
plies equally  to  the  other.  Of  its  importance  as  a 
social  virtue,  and  of  dishonesty  as  a  social  vice,  we 
can  speak  to  better  advantage  in  deahng  with  them 
in  connection  with  the  virtues  and  vices  of  the  school, 
and  especially  of  the  community,  for  here  they  as- 
sume much  larger,  and,  in  a  sense,  more  significant 
proportions-.     Still  in  a  course  in  elementary  morals 


78        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

they  should  be  duly  emphasized  in  their  relation  to 
family  life. 

Helpfulness  in  the  family  is  another  virtue  in  which 
children  need  to  be  established.  Some  one  has  said 
that  we  are  all  as  lazy  as  we  dare  to  be.  The  major- 
ity of  us  would  hardly  admit  this  statement  to  be 
true.  But  it  is  hardly  a  libel  on  child  nature  to  say 
that  the  average  child  is  disposed  to  be  lazy  with 
reference  to  helping  in  home  work.  During  his 
earliest  years  so  much  is  done  for  him,  and  so  much  of 
the  general  housework  is  done  by  others,  that,  when 
a  little  later  he  is  called  upon  to  share  in  it,  it  is  more 
or  less  irksome  to  him.  Furthermore,  play  is  so 
instinctive  and  enjoyable  in  childhood  that  work, 
which  interferes  with  play,  is  usually  not  relished 
very  much.  But  a  child  ought  to  be  taught  to  be 
helpful  in  the  home,  to  make  his  contribution,  be  it 
ever  so  modest,  to  the  household  work.  This  is  a 
very  important  matter  in  the  homes  of  the  poor,  where 
the  child  can  often  be  of  great  service  to  the  mother. 
It  is  well  to  cultivate  in  all  children,  rich  and  poor 
alike,  the  spirit  of  service.  Such  a  spirit  is  ethical 
through  and  through.  That  this  is  possible,  even 
among  very  young  children,  has  been  demonstrated 
in  the  Casa  dei  Bambini  of  Montessori.  In  these 
"Houses  of  Childhood,"  it  is  really  quite  remarkable 
how  the  spirit  of  real  helpfulness  is  developed  in  the 
child,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  this  spirit  should  not 


THE   SOCIAL   LITE  79 

be  active  in  the  home.     Mrs.   Fisher,   who  made  a 
special  study  of  the  "Houses  of  Childhood,"  says :  — 

"The  children  have  the  responsibility  not  only  for  their 
own  persons,  but  for  the  care  of  their  Home.  They 
arrive  early  in  the  morning  and  betake  themselves  at  once 
to  the  small  washstands  with  pitchers  and  bowls  of  just 
the  size  convenient  for  them  to  handle.  Here  they  make 
as  complete  a  morning  toilet  as  any  one  could  wish,  washing 
their  faces,  necks,  hands,  and  ears  (and  behind  the  ears  !) , 
brushing  their  teeth,  making  manful  efforts  to  comb  their 
hair,  cleaning  their  finger  nails  with  scrupulous  care,  and 
helping  each  other  with  fraternal  sympathy.  It  is  as- 
tonishing (for  any  one  who  had  the  illusion  that  she  knew 
child  nature)  to  note  the  contrast  between  the  vivid 
purposeful  attention  they  bestow  on  all  these  processes 
when  they  are  allowed  to  do  them  for  themselves,  and  the 
bored,  indifferent  impatience  we  all  know  so  well  when  it 
is  our  adult  hands  which  are  doing  all  the  work.  The  big 
ones  (of  five  and  six)  help  the  little  ones,  who,  eager  to 
be  "big  ones"  in  their  turn,  struggled  to  learn  as  quickly 
as  possible  how  to  do  things  for  themselves. 

"After  the  morning  toilet  of  the  children  is  finished, 
it  is  the  turn  of  the  schoolroom.  The  fresh-faced,  shin- 
ing-eyed children  scatter  about  the  big  room,  with 
tiny  brushes  and  dustpans,  and  little  brooms.  They 
attack  the  corners  where  dust  lurks,  they  dust  off  all  the 
furniture  with  soft  cloths,  they  water  the  plants,  they 
pick  up  any  litter  which  may  have  accumulated,  they  learn 
the  habit  of  really  examining  a  room  to  see  if  it  is  in  order 
or  not.  One  natural  result  of  this  daily  training  in  close 
observation  of  a  room  is  a  much  greater  care  in  the  use  of 
it  during  the  day,  a  result  the  importance  of  which  can 


So       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL  AND  HOME 

be  certified  by  any  mother  who  has  to  pick  up  after  a  family 
of  small  children."  ^ 

Courtesy,  or  good  manners,  is  a  virtue  of  which  we 
shall  have  more  to  say  in  connection  with  the  virtues 
of  the  school  and  of  the  community.  But  it  is  a 
virtue  which  eminently  belongs  to  the  home.  It  is 
not  only  an  aesthetic  imperative,  but  a  moral  com- 
mand as  well.  In  its  highest  form  it  is  an  expression 
of  the  moral  spirit  —  it  is  a  manifestation  of  our  good 
will  in  what  we  deem  to  be  proper  or  fit  conduct. 
And  where  should  such  conduct  prevail  more  than  in 
the  home  ?  Who  is  more  worthy  of  the  child's 
courtesy  than  father  and  mother,  or  brother  and 
sister  ?  Our  family  relations  should  be  cast  in  fitting 
mold.  The  moralizing  effect  of  good  manners  in 
the  home  is  not  appreciated  enough.  Parents  are 
not  fully  alive  to  their  ethical  value,  and  often  the 
task  of  training  the  child  in  courtesy  as  it  should  pre- 
vail in  the  home  devolves  upon  the  school.  Boorish- 
ness  and  vulgarity  are  closely  allied  to  evil.  Gentle 
manners  and  refinement  are  intimately  related  to 
good.  Elementary  moral  education  should  reckon 
with  this  fact,  and  should  make  provision  for  training 
the  child  in  courtesy  and  gentility  in  the  home.  This 
can  be  done  largely  in  connection  with  the  manners 
which  he  is  called  upon  to  practice  in  the  schoolroom, 
as  well  as  by  lessons  in  story  hterature  which  tell  of 

^  Fisher,  "  A  Montessori  Mother,"  New  York,  191 2,  pp.  34-35. 


THE   SOCIAL   LIFE  8l 

polite  and  impolite  children.  More  or  less  direct 
instruction  is  desirable  here. .  For  example,  the  meal 
is  such  a  valuable  social  institution  that  it  ought  to 
be  refined  and  moralized  as  much  as  possible.  Good 
table  manners  ought  to  be  taught  in  the  school,  for 
in  so  many  homes  the  children  do  not  become  ac- 
quainted with  prevaihng  etiquette  as  it  bears  on  this 
matter.  To  familiarize  them  with  such  a  code  re- 
quires more  or  less  of  the  direct  method.  The  meal 
can  be  made  a  great  moral  factor  in  the  life  of  the 
home,  and  anything  that  tends  to  refine  it  makes  for 
the  moral  welfare  of  the  family.  The  teacher  should 
not  overlook  the  importance  of  the  etiquette  of  the 
home  and  of  establishing  the  pupil  in  the  virtue  of 
courtesy  and  in  the  practice  of  gentle  manners. 

Another  splendid  virtue  that  ought  to  be  developed 
in  the  child  in  his  relation  to  the  home  is  gratitude. 
Especially  in  his  relation  to  his  parents  is  this  virtue 
to  be  exercised.  He  owes  so  much  to  them  for  their 
kindness  and  care  —  for  the  general  providence  which 
they  exercise  over  his  life  —  that  gratitude  is  one  of 
the  preeminent  moral  obligations  in  the  child's  more 
mature  life.  In  the  earHer  years  of  childhood  the 
child  accepts  all  of  this  care  and  kindness  as  a  matter 
of  course,  but  gradually  he  can  be  made  to  appreciate 
the  sacrifice  and  love  that  are  involved  in  much  of 
it,  and  grateful  feehngs  can  be  awakened.  There  is 
great  need  of  cultivating  filial  gratitude  ;  for,  in  many 


82        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

cases,  the  heartless  inappreciation  of  children  in  the 
face  of  great  love  and  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  parents 
makes  the  soul  sick.  Ingratitude  is  a  base  vice,  and 
it  seems  especially  base  in  the  relations  of  children  to 
father  and  mother. 

Love  for  parents  of  course  is  natural  to  children, 
but,  as  natural,  it  is  nonmoral.  When  it  represents 
an  attitude  of  will,  it  becomes  moral.  In  develop- 
ing the  child  in  all  the  virtues  of  the  home  the  teacher 
is  really  developing  the  child  in  fihal  love.  True  love 
is  the  crowning  grace  and  virtue  of  the  soul  in  all 
forms  of  social  life,  and  nowhere  should  it  abound 
more  than  in  the  home.  By  virtue  of  the  child's 
peculiar  relation  to  his  parents  he  is  under  special 
obhgations  to  love  them,  and  the  same  thing  is  true 
with  reference  to  his  relation  to  brother  and  sister. 
As  love  is  "the  greatest  thing  in  the  world,"  so  is  it 
the  greatest  thing  in  the  family.  It  makes  for  all  of 
the  other  virtues.  It  leads  to  willing  obedience ;  to 
truthfulness,  for  it  ''rejoiceth  in  the  truth";  to  hon- 
esty, for  "it.seeketh  not  its  own  "  ;  to  sympathy  and 
helpfulness.  "It  suffereth  long  and  is  kind";  it 
bears  all  things  and  endures  all  things.  "Love  never 
faileth."  And  all  this  is  exceedingly  necessary  in  the 
family.  When  love  abounds  in  the  family,  there  is 
unity,  harmony,  and  moral  progress.  It  recognizes 
the  mutuality  of  interests,  and  all  labor  toward  a  com- 
mon end.     Hence  anything  that  can  be  done  by  the 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE  83 

teacher  to  promote  love  in  the  home  by  establishing 
the  child  in  this  supreme  virtue  represents  a  decided 
moral  gain,  and  its  influence  extends  far  beyond  the 
immediate  boundaries  of  the  home.  Here  again  the 
story  method  will  be  found  most  effective.  In  con- 
nection with  the  helpful  reading  lesson  in  morals  thdre 
are  many  beautiful  stories  of  home  life  of  which  the 
teacher  may  avail  herself  to  bring  this  virtue  before 
the  pupil.  The  teacher  should  familiarize  herself 
with  such  literature. 

Another  virtue  relating  to  the  family  is  loyalty. 
Professor  Royce  seems  to  regard  loyalty  as  com- 
prehending the  whole  hfe  of  morals.^  Whether  this 
be  so  or  not,  loyalty  is  certainly  a  cardinal  virtue,  and 
loyalty  to  the  best  life  of  the  family  and  to  its  highest 
ideals  is  an  important  moral  obhgation.  To  be  true 
to  those  who  love  us  most,  to  be  mindful  of  their 
interests,  and  to  guard  their  honor  —  to  do  all  this  is 
to  live  a  wholesome  moral  Hfe.  The  boys  and  girls 
who  possess  this  virtue  of  loyalty  to  the  home  have 
a  great  safeguard  against  the  evil  of  the  world  when 
other  safeguards  give  way.  It  often  serves  as  a  check 
to  temptation.  They  will  often  think  twice  before 
doing  a  thing  that  they  feel  sure  would  bring  discredit 
or  disgrace  upon  the  family.  A  keen  sense  of  family 
honor  is  a  good  thing,  and  the  teacher  should  aim  to 
estabHsh  the  child  in  this  virtue.     Especially  should 

^  Royce,  "The  Philosophy  of  Loyalty,"  New  York,  1909. 


84       MORAL  TRAINING  IN   THE   SCHOOL  AND   HOME 

this  virtue  be  brought  impressively  to  their  atten- 
tion in  the  upper  grades  of  the  elementary  schools, 
just  before  many  children  enter  upon  their  voca- 
tional  course. 

In  teaching  the  morals  of  the  home,  then,  obedience, 
respect,  truthfulness,  honesty,  courtesy,  helpfulness, 
gratitude,  love,  loyalty,  and  their  corresponding  vices 
should  be  dealt  with.  These  virtues  make  the  home 
the  most  blessed  place  on  earth  - —  a  place  of  peace 
and  joy  —  a  place  of  sweetest  and  purest  fellowship. 
The  school  can  do  much  to  morahze  the  home,  and  the 
teacher  who  labors  toward  this  end  will  have  as  her 
reward  the  consciousness  that  she  has  done  something 
to  ideaHze  one  of  the  most  vital  and  sacred  institutions 
of  the  race. 

In  our  efforts  to  establish  children  in  the  virtues  of 
the  family  the  following  graded  scheme  (pp.  86-87) 
is  recommended  for  adoption. 

For  training  children  in  the  virtues  of  the  family 
life  the  following  stories  will  be  found  helpful :  — 

"The  Young  Raccoons  Go  to  a  Party,"  "The  Pond," 
"How  the  Crickets  Brought  Good  Fortune,"  "Which 
Loved  Best?"  "The  Old  Grandfather's  Corner,"  "Only 
One,"  "A  Four-footed  Gentleman,"  "The  Hare  of 
Inaba,"  "One,  Two,  Three,"  "The  Water  of  Life," 
"The  Boy  Who  Never  Told  a  Lie,"  "Up  to  the  Sky  and 
Back,"  "Three  Bugs,"  "The  Three-inch  Grin,"  and  "A 
German  Story,"  from  The  Golden  Ladder  Book. 

"Casablanca,"   "  So-So,"    "Rebecca's   Afterthought," 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE  85 

"  Si-Me-Quong,"  "  How  the  Sun,  Moon,  and  Wind  Went 
Out  to  Dinner,"  "Sweet  and  Low,"  "The  Brownies," 
"  A  Song  of  Love,"  "  The  King  of  the  Golden  River," 
"  Ezekiel  and  Daniel,"  "The  Pea  Blossom,"  and  "Love 
Will  Find  Out  the  Way,"  from  The  Golden  Path  Book. 

"A  Visit  to  Yarmouth,"  "The  Goat-faced  Girl," 
"The  Boy  Who  Became  a  Hsao-Tsze,"  "Snapdragons," 
"A  Story  of  Long  Ago,"  and  "Sylvain  and  Jocosa, " 
from  The  Golden  Door  Book. 

"Prascovia"  and  "Samuel  Johnson,"  from  The  Golden 
Key  Book. 

"The  Golden  Goose,"  "Story  of  Cordelia,"  and  "Tom 
and  Maggie  Tulliver, "  from  The  Golden  Word  Book. 

"The  Parrot,"  "The  Forsaken  Merman,"  and  "Napo- 
leon," from  The  Golden  Deed  Book. 

"  Story  of  Raggylug,"  from  Ernest  Thompson-Seton's 
Wild  Animals  I  Have  Known.  "Education  of  Dear  Jim," 
"Resolutions,"  and  "The  New  Leaf,"  from  More  Five 
Minute  Stories,  by  Laura  E.  Richards.  "The  Chicken 
Who  Wouldn't  Eat  Gravel"  and  "The  Twin  Lambs," 
from  Among  the  Farmyard  People,  by  Clara  D.  Pierson. 
"The  Broken  Flower  Pot,"  from  The  Caxtons,  by  Maria 
Edgeworth.  "A  Robin's  Double  Brood,"  from  Dooryard 
Stories,  by  Clara  D.  Pierson.  "  The  Legend  of  the  Dipper, " 
from  For  the  Children's  Hour,  by  Carolyn  S.  Bailey.  "About 
Angels,"  "The  Wheat  Field,"  and  "The  Great  Feast," 
from  The  Golden  Windows.  Grimm's  "One  Eye,  Two 
Eyes,  Three  Eyes."  "The  Blue  Jackal,"  from  The  Talking 
Beasts.  "  Hugh  John  Smith  Becomes  a  Soldier,"  from  S.  R. 
Crockett's  Sir  Toady  Lion.  "The  Eve  of  St.  Nicholas," 
from  Story  Land,  by  Clara  Murray. 

The  Story  of  Phaeton.     "Amelia  and  the  Dwarfs" 


86 


MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 


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THE   SOCIAL  LIFE  87 


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88       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL  AND   HOME 

and  "  Mary's  Meadow,"  by  Juliana  Horatia  Ewing.  Story 
of  George  Washington.  "The  Wouldbegoods,"  p.  86,  by 
E.  Nesbit.  The  William  Henry  Letters,  p.  132,  by  Abby 
Morton  Diaz.  "How  Cedric  Became  a  Knight"  and  "The 
Line  of  Golden  Light,"  from  In  Story- Land,  by  Elizabeth 
Harrison.  "Somebody's  Mother,"  from  Child's  Calendar 
Beautiful,  arranged  by  R.  Katharine  Beeson.  Story  of 
Elidure,  from  Bulfinch's  Age  of  Chivalry.  "The  Rainbow 
Pilgrimage"  and  "The  Immortal  Fountain,"  from  Stories 
of  Child  Life,  edited  by  John  Greenleaf  Whittier.  "The 
Wonderful  Mallet"  and  "The  Months,"  from  Tales  of 
Laughter.  "A  Triumph,"  by  Celia Thaxter.  "The  Ugly 
Duckling,"  by  Hans  Christian  Andersen,  ^sop's  "The 
Three  Vases."  "A  Child's  Dream  of  a  Star,"  by  Charles 
Dickens. 

"Fathers  and  Sons"  and  "The  Monthyon  Prizes," 
from  A  Book  of  Golden  Deeds,  by  Charlotte  M.  Yonge. 
"The  Bull,"  from  Collection  of  Eastern  Stories  and  Legends, 
by  Marie  L.  Shedlock.  "Home  Song,"  by  Longfellow. 
"The  Loveof  Home,"  by  Daniel  Webster,  iromProse  Every 
Child  Should  Know.  "Jassima,  Xima,  and  Josu,"  from 
Famous  Children,  by  H.  Twitchell.  "The  Threefold 
Destiny,"  by  Nathaniel  Hawthorne.  "The  Union  of  the 
Trees,"  from  Stories  from  the  Classic  Literature  of  Many 
Lands.  "A  Falling  Out,"  from  Kenneth  Grahame's 
Golden  Age.    "The  Brothers,"  by  William  Wordsworth. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   SOCIAL  LIFE    (tHE   SCHOOl) 

The  child  soon  emerges  from  the  family  into  another 
social  circle  —  the  school.  Here,  as  in  the  family,  he 
interacts  with  beings  constituted  like  himself,  and 
sustains  relations  similar  to  those  of  the  family. 
Hence,  many  of  his  moral  obhgations  here  are  essen- 
tially the  same  as  there,  and  most  of  the  virtues  and 
vices  which  he  exemplifies  are  also  the  same.  The 
principal  difference  between  the  family  and  the  school, 
so  far  as  the  moral  obhgations  are  concerned,  is  largely 
a  difference  of  emphasis.  Certain  duties  are  em- 
phasized more  in  the  family  than  in  the  school,  and 
vice  versa.  There  are  some  duties  growing  out  of  the 
natural  relations  of  the  child  to  the  parents,  and  to  his 
brothers  and  sisters,  which  belong  pecuHarly  to  the 
family ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  child  in  his 
relations  to  the  school.  But,  on  the  whole,  the  same 
fundamental  moral  obligations  obtain  in  both  social 
institutions  —  the  teacher,  in  a  sense,  taking  the  place 
of  the  parent,  and  his  schoolmates  taking  the  place  of 
brothers  and  sisters.  The  intellectual  virtues,  of 
course,  must  receive  special  attention  in  the  school, 

89 


90       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

as  it  is  specially  engaged  with  intellectual  function- 
ing. These  have  already  been  considered.  But  the 
school  is  a  social  institution,  also.  It  is  composed  of 
persons  constantly  interacting  in  a  social  way  — 
hence  the  virtues  relating  to  the  social  Ufe  of  the 
school  must  also  be  considered.  The  pupil  sustains 
special  relations  to  the  teacher,  as  well  as  the  ordinary 
social  relations  to  his  fellow  pupils.  These  must  be 
moralized.  In  other  words  the  pupil  must  not  only 
be  trained  in  the  virtues  and  guarded  against  the 
vices  that  pertain  to  his  intellectual  Hfe,  but  also  in 
those  which  pertain  to  his  social  hfe  in  the  school. 

As  in  the  family,  so  in  the  school,  obedience  is  one 
of  the  fundamental  virtues  to  receive  consideration. 
It  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  life  of  the  school. 
Certain  rules  and  laws  are  necessary  for  its  existence. 
These  rules  and  laws  are  the  expression  of  the  teacher's 
will,  and  of  the  will  of  the  Board  of  Education.  They 
are  made  in  the  interest  of  all  of  the  pupils,  and  they 
must  be  obeyed  if  these  interests  are  to  be  properly 
conserved.  Social  chaos  would  result  if  they  were 
not  enforced.  Indeed  !  one  of  the  marks  of  an  effi- 
cient teacher  is  the  success  with  which  she  secures 
obedience  to  them.  But  it  is  better  to  secure  a 
willing  than  a  compulsory  or  slavish  obedience.  It^ 
is  better  to  lead  the  pupil  into  a  rational  appreciation 
of  their  worth,  and  to  secure  conformity  to  them  from 
such  motives,  rather  than  through  an  assertion  of  mere 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE  9I 

arbitrary  authority.  The  pupil's  obedience  then  takes 
on  a  real  moral  character,  and  the  moral  atmosphere 
of  the  school  becomes  more  wholesome.  This  is 
really  a  very  important  matter.  The  attitude  of 
many  children  toward  the  teacher  is  similar  to  the 
attitude  of  many  people  toward  the  law,  and  toward 
those  who  enforce  it.  It  is  an  attitude  of  inward 
hostility.  The  law  is  the  friend  of  every  right-minded 
citizen,  and  so  are  they  who  properly  execute  it.  Laws 
are  made,  as  a  rule,  in  the  interests  of  the  common- 
weal, and  the  more  we  can  lead  citizens  to  realize 
and  appreciate  this  fact,  the  more  willingly  and  gra- 
ciously do  they  conform  to  them,  and  the  result  is  a 
higher  type  of  citizenship.  So  it  is  in  the  school. 
The  more  we  can  lead  the  pupil  to  reahze  that  the 
rules  and  laws  of  the  school  are  made  for  his  benefit, 
and  that  the  teacher  enforces  them  simply  because 
they  are  for  his  interests,  the  more  readily  and  gra- 
ciously will  he  submit  to  them.  We  develop  in  this 
way  a  higher  kind  of  school  citizenship.  Then  the 
tieacher's  task  becomes  easier,  and  the  pupil's  obe- 
dience becomes  truly  moral. 

Probably  the  next  in  importance  of  the  virtues  re- 
lating to  school  Hfe  is  that  oi  justice.  The  sense  of 
justice  is  instinctive  with  man.  It  is  rooted  in  his 
sense  of  what  belongs  to  him  as  a  personal  being.  Any 
violation  of  this  instinct  gives  rise  to  a  feeling  of  re- 
sentment or  retaliation.     Justice  calls  for  ''fair  play" 


92       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL  AND   HOME 

in  the  interaction  of  man  with  man.  Hence  it  hes 
at  the  foundations  of  society  as  organized  under  govern- 
ment ;  and  since  the  school  is  a  governing  body,  its 
rules  and  laws  should  duly  respect  the  rights  of  all  its 
members.  Every  pupil  should  stand  on  an  equality 
before  the  school  law.  There  must  be  no  partiality 
either  in  school  legislation  or  in  the  apphcation  or 
enforcement  of  school  laws.  Special  privileges  to 
particular  pupils  should  not  be  granted  unless  it  be 
for  the  purpose  of  stimulating  good  work  and  good 
conduct,  and  then  they  are  not  really  special,  for  such 
privileges  are  open  to  all.  Impartiahty  of  law  and 
its  enforcement  creates  an  atmosphere  of  justice  in 
the  school  which  is  very  potent  in  the  moralization  of 
its  pupils. 

As  has  been  already  observed,  the  playground 
affords  an  excellent  opportunity  to  teach  justice  to 
children  in  their  relations  one  with  another.  Fair 
play  in  sport  must  be  insisted  upon.  Cheating, 
trickery  of  all  sorts,  must  be  prohibited  and  punished 
whenever  discovered.  This  makes  it  eminently  de- 
sirable, indeed  necessary,  that  the  teacher,  or  the 
supervisor  of  sports,  if  there  be  one  in  the  school, 
should  supervise  all  sports.  Clean,  wholesome,  fair 
play  helps  to  establish  the  pupil  in  a  virtue  that  is 
fundamental  to  all  social  life. 

But  this  virtue  should  receive  attention  in  the  class 
also.      In  a  course  in  moral  training  justice  as  a  vir- 


./  THE    SOCIAL    LIFE  93 

tue  to  be  exemplified  in  the  social  life  of  the  school 
should  be  brought  to  the  pupil's  attention  as  an 
exceedingly  important  virtue.  This  may  be  done 
by  reading  and  telUng  stories  embodying  justice  as 
it  relates  to  school  life.  There  is  sufficient  literature 
of  this  kind,  especially  as  it  relates  to  fair  play  in 
sport,  available,  and  the  teacher  will  do  well  to  make 
herself  familiar  with  it  so  that  she  may  be  able  to 
supplement  the  lesson  of  the  ethical  reader  by  narrat- 
ing one  or  more  stories  of  her  own  selection.  The 
rewards  and  punishments  of  justice  and  injustice,  as 
these  are  brought  out  in  stories  of  fair  play  and  stories 
of  injustice  and  cheating,  will  surely  find  a  most 
sympathetic  response  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
children.  These  rewards  and  punishments  take  on 
the  form  of  social  approbation  and  disapprobation 
to  which  the  child  is  very  susceptible.  More  will  be 
said  as  to  the  significance  of  this  social  virtue  when 
we  come  to  the  chapters  on  the  community  and  the 
state;  but  it  is  necessary  to  deal  with  justice  in  its 
relation  to  the  smaller  community  —  the  smaller 
state  —  which  is  the  school  —  both  for  its  own  good 
and  for  the  sake  of  the  larger  social  relations  which 
the  pupils  will  sustain  later  in  life. 

Honesty  is  a  virtue  that  calls  for  special  considera- 
tion as  it  relates  to  school  life.  And  it  calls  for  recog- 
nition very  early  in  the  pupil's  career,  as  early  indeed 
as  the  kindergarten  period.     The  distinctions  between 


94       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL  AND   HOME 

meum  and  tuum  are  not  well  known  to  the  very  young 
child.  Gradually  he  acquires  a  knowledge  of  them 
—  often  through  painful  experience.  But  knowledge 
does  not  necessarily  establish  him  in  virtue,  and  the 
tendency  to  appropriate  the  property  of  others  mani- 
fests itself  from  time  to  time.  In  school  he  finds  him- 
self surrounded  with  the  property  of  others  —  much 
of  which  belongs  to  the  public,  and  some  of  it  to  his 
fellow  pupils.  For  his  own  good,  as  well  as  for  the 
good  of  the  school,  it  is  important  that  he  should 
develop  an  honest  regard  for  the  possessions  of  others. 
He  must  not  dishonestly  appropriate  either  the  prop- 
erty of  the  school  or  the  property  of  his  schoolmates. 
How  strong  a  temptation  the  latter  may  prove  will 
depend  somewhat  on  the  abundance  of  others'  pos- 
sessions as  compared  with  his  own.  The  child  often 
smarts  under  a  sense  of  injustice  in  this  respect.  He 
can't  understand  why  another  child  should  have  so 
much  more  than  himself  when  the  other  child  seems 
no  more  deserving,  —  not  having  earned  it  for  him- 
self, —  and  the  temptation  to  equalize  matters  comes 
to  him.  Again,  if  the  favored  schoolmate  be  selfish 
or  ungenerous  in  the  use  of  his  own  possessions,  fail- 
ing to  share  them,  to  some  extent  at  least,  with  his 
fellow  pupils,  such  a  lack  of  generosity  may  con- 
stitute a  temptation  to  theft  on  the  part  of  the  less 
favored. 

In  dealing  with  the  virtue  of  honesty  and  the  vice 


THE    SOCIAL   LITE  95 

of  dishonesty,  a  good  mode  of  procedure  is  to  develop 
the  sense  of  ownership  in  each  pupil.  Teach  him  to 
collect  things  and  to  add  to  them  by  service.  That 
which  he  earns  he  will  prize,  and  it  will,  at  the  same 
time,  develop  in  him  an  appreciation  of  ownership 
on  the  part  of  others.  He  will  then  know  that 
another's  possessions  cost  the  owner  something  and 
will  hesitate  to  steal  from  him.  ''To  own^lso  teaches_ 
respect  for  others'  possessions ;  and  even  the  greed  fpr 
gain  by  those  who  have  much  rarely  prompts  theft. 
Stealing  is  the  vice  of  the  ownerless.  To  have  what 
has  cost  pain,  effort,  and  denial  to  get,  gives  a  just 
sense  of  worth  and  best  teaches  what  real  ownership, 
which  should  always  and  everywhere  represent  serv- 
ice, means.  Those  who  have  felt  the  joy  of  pos- 
sessing the  well-earned  fruits  of  toil  are  least  liable 
to  rob  others  of  them."  ^  Parents  should  cooperate 
with  teachers  here.  Children's  possessions  are  orig- 
inally acquired  in  the  home,  and  were  the  parents  to 
condition  their  ownership  largely  upon  service,  it 
would  undoubtedly  make  for  honesty  in  the  child. 
This  sense  of  ownership  manifests  itself  very  early 
in  the  child's  history,  and  therefore  the  parent  is 
primarily  responsible  for  its  moralization. 

But  honesty  and  dishonesty  may  be  dealt  with 
also  by  means  of  the  story  method.  The  rewards 
of  the  former  and  the  penalties  of  the  latter  should  be 

^  Hall,  "  Educational  Problems,"  Vol.  I,  pp.  255-256. 


96        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

presented  to  the  pupil  in  stories  relating  to  school 
life.  The  sense  of  ownership  is  so  strong  in  children 
that  it  is  easy,  through  sympathy,  for  a  school  boy  or 
girl  to  put  himself  or  herself  in  the  position  of  one  who 
has  suffered  from  theft,  and  they  are  in  sympathy 
with  the  punishment  meted  out  to  the  thief.  The 
same  thing  is  true  concerning  their  sympathy  with 
honesty  and  its  rewards  —  especially  when  they  read 
or  are  told  of  an  honest  act  performed  by  a  school  boy 
or  girl.  This  is  particularly  true  of  children  in  the 
elementary  grades,  because  the  school  is  their  largest 
social  circle  during  these  important  years. 

The  next  virtue  to  be  dealt  with  in  its  relation  to 
school  life  is  the  virtue  of  truth.  As  the  school,  in 
its  social  life,  is,  in  many  respects,  a  larger  family, 
all  that  has  been  said  of  this  virtue  in  its  relation  to 
the  family  applies  equally  to  the  school.  Truth  in 
speech,  conduct,  and  spirit  is  one  of  the  foundation 
stones  of  the  school  viewed  as  a  social  institution. 
Here  let  it  be  stated  again  that  the  teacher  should  ac- 
quaint herself  with  the  psychology  of  falsehood  as  it 
manifests  itself  in  children,  so  that  she  may  be  capable 
of  forming  a  correct  judgment  concerning  their  ve- 
racity. She  will  soon  discover  that  all  so-called 
"children's  Hes"  are  not  really  lies.  Hall,  Compayre, 
Perez,  Sully,  Stern,  and  others  have  given  careful 
attention  to  this  matter,  and  it  is  evident  from  their 
work  that  in  dealing  with  children's  lies  we  must  take 


THE   SOCIAL   LIFE  97 

into  consideration  the  child's  instinct  to  secrete  things, 
the  dramatic  instinct  or  the  desire  to  play  a  part, 
which  leads  to  deception,  the  vivid  fancy  and  im- 
agination of  children  which  leads  to  illusions  and  to 
exaggeration,  the  desire  to  please,  which  is  so  charac- 
teristic of  childhood,  and  which  leads  to  insincerity, 
the  apprehension  of  giving  offense,  which  often  re- 
sults in  misrepresentation  of  the  facts,  etc.,^  —  these 
are  things  that  must  be  taken  into  consideration  in 
determining  our  judgments  in  regard  to  children's  lies. 
When  this  is  done,  our  judgments  will  probably  be 
softened.  Nevertheless  children  do  lie,  and  there 
are  many  opportunities  associated  with  school  life 
which  afford  sufficient  temptation.  Such  tempta- 
tion usually  arises  in  connection  with  school  discipline. 
The  school  is  a  governing  body,  and,  as  such,  it  must, 
have  rules  and  laws,  and  penalties  for  their  violation.  \  \ 
Fear  of  these  penalties  impels  the  disobedient  pupil 
to  falsify.  For  example,  there  is  a  rule  relating  to< 
punctuality,  and  a  penalty  for  being  late.  The  pupil 
may  have  loitered  along  the  way  and  reported  late. 
To  avoid  punishment  he  is  tempted  to  frame  an  excuse 
not  in  accordance  with  the  facts.  So  with  reference 
to  absence  from  school  or  unprepared  lessons,  or  there 
may  be  a  violation  of  rules  relative  to  school  property, 
as  cutting  desks  or  defacing  walls.  These  things 
usually  bring  punishment  upon  the  offender,  and  there 
^  Cf.  Sully,  "  Studies  of  Childhood,"  pp.  252-266. 


98        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL  AND   HOME 

is  a  temptation  to  lie  to  escape  it.  It  is  a  means  of 
self-defense.  All  lying  of  this  kind  should  be  pun- 
ished, and  the  pupil  should  be  made  an  object  les- 
son to  his  schoolmates.  Locke,  in  his  celebrated 
"  Thoughts  Concerning  Education,"  has  made  some 
wise  remarks  on  this  subject  which  the  teacher  might 
ponder  over  to  advantage.  They  are  as  applicable 
to  her  as  to  the  parent  in  dealing  with  this  evil :  — 

"Lying  is  so  ready  and  cheap  a  Cover  for  any  Mis- 
carriage, and  so  much  in  Fashion  among  all  Sorts  of 
People,  that  a  Child  can  hardly  avoid  observing  the  use 
made  of  it  on  all  Occasions,  and  so  can  scarce  be  kept 
without  great  Care  from  getting  into  it.  But  it  is  so  ill  a 
Quality,  and  the  Mother  of  so  many  ill  ones  that  spawn 
from  it,  and  take  shelter  imder  it,  that  a  Child  should 
be  brought  up  in  the  greatest  Abhorrence  of  it  imaginable. 
It  should  be  always  (when  occasionally  it  comes  to  be 
mention'd)  spoke  of  before  him  with  the  utmost  Detesta- 
tion, as  a  Quality  so  wholly  inconsistent  with  the  Name 
and  Character  of  a  Gentleman,  that  no  body  of  any  Credit 
can  bear  the  Imputation  of  a  Lie ;  a  Mark  that  is  judg'd  the 
utmost  Disgrace,  which  debases  a  Man  to  the  lowest 
Degree  of  a  shameful  Meanness,  and  ranks  him  with  the 
most  contemptible  Part  of  Mankind  and  the  abhorred 
Rascality ;  and  is  not  to  be  endured  in  any  one  who  would 
converse  with.  People  of  Condition,  or  have  any  Esteem 
or  Reputation  in  the  World.  The  first  Time  he  is  found 
in  a  Lie,  it  should  rather  be  wondered  at  as  a  monstrous 
Thing  in  him,  than  reproved  as  an  ordinary  Fault.  If 
that  keeps  him  not  from  relapsing,  the  next  Time  he  must 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE  99 

be  sharply  rebuked,  and  fall  into  the  State  of  great  Dis- 
pleasure of  his  Father  and  Mother  and  all  about  him  who 
take  Notice  of  it.  And  if  this  Way  work  not  the  Cure, 
you  must  come  to  Blows;  for  after  he  has  been  thus 
warned,  a  premeditated  Lie  must  always  be  looked  upon 
as  Obstinacy,  and  never  be  permitted  to  escape  un- 
punished. 

"Children,  afraid  to  have  their  Faults  seen  in  their 
naked  Colours,  will,  like  the  rest  of  the  Sons  of  Adam, 
be  apt  to  make  Excuses.  This  is  a  Fault  usually  bordering 
upon,  and  leading  to  Untruth,  and  is  not  to  be  indulged 
in  them ;  but  yet  it  ought  to  be  cured  rather  with  Shame 
than  Roughness.  If  therefore,  when  a  Child  is  questioned 
for  any  Thing,  his  first  Answer  be  an  Excw^e,  warn  him 
soberly  to  tell  the  Truth ;  and  then  if  he  persists  to  shufBe 
it  off  with  a  Falsehood,  he  must  be  chastised ;  but  if  he 
directly  confess,  you  must  commend  his  Ingenuity,  and 
pardon  the  Fault,  be  it  what  it  will ;  and  pardon  it  so,  that 
you  never  so  much  as  reproach  him  with  it,  or  mention 
it  to  him  again  :  For  if  you  would  have  him  in  love  with 
Ingenuity,  and  by  a  constant  Practice  make  it  habitual  to 
him,  you  must  take  care  that  it  never  procure  him  the 
least  Inconvenience;  but  on  the  contrary,  his  own  Con- 
fession bringing  always  with  it  perfect  Impunity,  should 
be  besides  encouraged  by  some  Marks  of  Approbation. 
If  his  Excuse  be  such  at  any  time  that  you  cannot 
prove  it  to  have  any  Falsehood  in  it,  let  it  pass  for 
true,  and  be  sure  not  to  shew  any  Suspicion  of  it. 
Let  him  keep  up  his  Reputation  with  you  as  high  as 
is  possible;  for  when  once  he  finds  he  has  lost  that, 
you  have  lost  a  great,  and  your  best  Hold  upon  him. 
Therefore  let  him  not  think  he  has  the  Character  of  a 


lOO       MORAL   TRAINING   IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

Liar  with  you,  as  long  as  you  can  avoid  it  without  flat- 
tering him  in  it."  ^ 

But  there  is  a  brighter  side  to  all  this.  The 
child  is  more  disposed  to  truth  than  to  false- 
hood, and  the  teacher  should  reckon  with  this 
fact.  A  high  regard  for  the  truth  should  be  cul- 
tivated in  the  child  by  pointing  out  its  value  and 
its  rewards  as  these  relate  to  school  life,  as  well  as 
to  life  in  general. 

Another  point  should  be  noticed  here.  The 
teacher  should  be  especially  on  her  guard  with  refer- 
ence to  her  own  conduct  in  relation  to  this  virtue. 
The  child  is  a  realist.  He  is  a  literalist.  He  does 
not  make  fine  distinctions  between  motiveless  actions 
and  actions  prompted  by  motives.  If  the  teacher  be 
careless  in  her  statement  of  fact,  it  sometimes  means 
falsehood  to  the  pupil.  Beware  of  inexact  and  of 
exaggerated  statements.  They  not  only  react  on 
your  own  mental  life,  but  often  lead  to  misinter- 
pretation on  the  part  of  the  pupil. 

Finally,  beware  of  casuistry.  It  is  exceedingly 
unwise  to  raise  questions  of  this  kind  as  they  relate 
to  the  virtue  under  consideration.  To  discuss  with 
pupils  of  the  elementary  grades  the  question  whether 
a  lie  is  ever  justifiable,  and  if  so,  under  what  circum- 
stances, is  to  weaken  the  pupil's  regard  for  the  truth. 

1  Locke,  "  Some  Thoughts  concerning  Education,"  edited  by 
R.  M.  Quick,  Cambridge  and  London,  1889,  pp.  113-115. 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE  lOI 

Such  questions,  if  they  have  a  place  in  moral  training 
at  all,  belong  to  a  later  period  in  the  life  of  the  in- 
dividual. The  discussion  of  such  questions  with 
children  of  the  age  represented  in  the  grades  is  not 
only  profitless,  but  may  prove  positively  harmful. 
Many  writers  believe  that,  under  some  circumstances, 
a  lie  is  justifiable.  If  the  teacher  so  believes,  nothing 
is  to  be  gained  by  raising  the  question  with  children 
and  presenting  the  teacher's  views.  The  child  is  not 
mature  enough  to  make  the  distinctions  which  are  in- 
volved in  such  a  position.  One  is  dealing  here  with 
a  part  of  the  general  question  of  the  relativity  of 
right  and  wrong,  the  consideration  of  which  belongs 
to  a  much  later  period  in  life. 

Another  virtue  belonging  to  school  life  is  courtesy. 
In  their  interactions  with  the  teacher  and  their 
schoolmates  the  children  ought  to  be  courteous.  In 
its  highest  form  courtesy  is  the  expression  of  good  will, 
and,  as  such,  it  is  preeminently  a  moral  thing.  Gentle 
manners  are  indicative  not  only  of  refinement,  but 
they  represent  often  a  moral  attitude.  The  impor- 
tance of  this  virtue  is  not  yet  sufficiently  appreciated, 
and  therefore  not  sufficiently  emphasized  in  our  schools. 
In  the  family,  school,  or  community  our  social  feelings 
manifest  themselves  in  conduct.  It  is  well  therefore 
that  the  child  should  be  taught  to  give  them  a  fitting 
expression  in  action,  for  on  such  expression  depends  a 
large  proportion  of  his  own  happiness  and  general 


I02        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

well-being,  as  well  as  the  happiness  and  general  well- 
being  of  others. 

The  school  affords  excellent  opportunities  to  train 
children  in  good  manners.  It  is  a  small  community 
in  itself,  and  relations  to  superiors,  equals,  and  infe- 
riors are  to  be  found  here.  The  teacher  has  thus  an 
opportunity  to  cultivate  good  manners  on  the  part  of 
children  which  presents  itself  to  comparatively  few, 
and  it  is  especially  incumbent  upon  her  since  she 
deals  with  so  many  children  who,  because  of  their 
home  surroundings,  have  not  the  opportunity  for 
much  culture  of  this  kind. 

The  teacher  should  herself  be  acquainted  with,  and 
practiced  in,  the  code  of  etiquette  that  prevails  in  cul- 
tured society  —  at  least  so  far  as  this  has  to  do  with 
the  more  fundamental  modes  of  social  interaction, 
so  that  she  will  not  only  be  an  example  to  her  pupils, 
but  will  be  able  to  acquaint  them  with  the  code  and 
practice  them  in  it.  Much  of  this,  of  course,  calls 
for  direct  instruction  and  immediate  practice  in  the 
schools.  There  should  be  certain  requirements  in 
the  way  of  greeting,  in  question  and  answer,  and  in 
showing  deference  and  respect.  There  ought  to  be 
"Good  morning,  Miss  Adams,"  instead  of  merely 
"Good  morning,"  or  instead  of  no  greeting  at  all. 
There  ought  to  be  "Yes,  Miss  Adams,"  instead  of 
merely  "Yes"  in  answer  to  a  question;  or  "No, 
Miss  Adams,"  instead  of  merely  "No."     If  the  pupil 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE  IO3 

must  pass  in  front  of  the  teacher,  he  should  be  taught 
to  ask  to  be  excused  for  so  doing.  In  other  words, 
there  ought  to  be  a  well-defined  body  of  social  eti- 
quette governing  the  school,  and  inasmuch  as  the 
social  relations  of  pupils  to  teacher  and  fellow  pupils 
are  primarily  the  same  as  those  which  obtain  in  the 
community  at  large,  the  body  of  etiquette  should 
therefore  be  that  which  prevails  in  what  is  commonly 
called  "good  society."  A  school  that  expresses  its  so- 
cial life  in  this  manner  is  a  morally  wholesome  school, 
for  conduct  not  only  reflects  the  inner  Hfe,  but  also 
reacts  upon  it,  and  good  manners  cannot  help  but 
have  a  moralizing  influence  upon  the  spirit  of  the  child. 
To  courtesy  Sidd  kindness.  No  one  will  be  disposed 
to  question  such  counsel,  if  for  no  other  reason  than 
that  school  children  are  often  very  unkind.  This 
may  be  due  at  times  to  lack  of  imagination,  or  to 
thoughtlessness,  or  to  a  lack  of  sympathy,  or  to  down- 
right meanness  and  brutahty.  But  whatever  it  may 
be  due  to,  it  works  injury  to'  its  object,  as  well  as  de- 
moralization in  some  measure  to  its  author.  There 
is  a  heartlessness  manifest  sometimes  in  school 
children  that  to  older  people  seems  almost  inhuman. 
At  times  some  at  least  seem  to  enjoy  teasing  others  in 
a  manner  which  often  approaches  torture.  Bullying 
is  an  example  of  unkindness  which  borders  on  bru- 
tality. A  big  boy  taking  advantage  of  his  superior 
strength  to  enforce  his  will  on  a  smaller  boy  is  not  an 


I04        MOEAL   TRAINING   IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

edifying,  although  a  common,  sight.  "Making  fun 
of"  physical  defects  and  of  personal  peculiarities  of 
other  children  is  by  no  means  uncommon  among 
children.  A  kind  of  snobbishness  that  excludes  cer- 
tain children  from  certain  social  f^voups,  and  from  cer- 
tain sports,  or  other  pleasures,  also  causes  needless 
pain.  In  these,  and  in  many  other  ways,  unkindness 
is  manifest  among  school  children.  It  mars  the  social 
life  of  the  school,  and,  in  many  instances,  causes 
children  who  are  the  sufferers  not  only  to  lose  interest 
in  it,  but  also  to  regard  the  school  as  a  place  of  fear 
and  dread,  thus  handicapping  the  teacher  in  her  work. 
The  teacher  should  aim  to  supplant  all  this  by  cul- 
tivating in  the  children  under  her  care  a  spirit  of 
mutual  kindness.  With  the  self-centeredness  and  self- 
assertion  so  characteristic  of  childhood  this  is  not  an 
easy  task.  But  there  is  a  constitutional  altruism  in 
the  child  as  well  as  egoism,  and  this  is  capable  of 
development  at  a  very  early  age.  The  teacher  should 
take  advantage  of  this  fact  in  her  attempts  to  develop 
the  virtue  of  kindness. 

Kindness  often  leads  to  generosity,  and  both  to 
friendship,  although  friendship  with  children  is  also 
determined  by  other  considerations,  such  as  afi&nities, 
social  position,  geographical  location,  etc.  Some  of 
these  friendships  formed  at  school  are  among  the  most 
lasting  and  most  dehghtful,  and  all  that  makes  for 
true  friendship  should  be  encouraged  by  the  teacher. 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE  IO5 

All  the  social  virtues  and  vices  of  school  life  should 
be  dealt  with  according  to  the  story  method,  even 
though  in  some  instances  the  more  formal  method 
may  be  desirable.  It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that 
among  the  innumerable  children's  stories  that  flood 
the  market  so  few  of  them  deal  with  school  Hfe.. 
Wholesome  stories,  embodying  important  moral 
lessons  relating  to  school  life,  are  a  desideratum,  and 
some  successful  writer  of  children's  stories  would 
serve  not  only  his  or  her  generation,  but  future 
generations  as  well,  by  providing  literature  of  this 
kind. 

In  dealing  with  the  social  virtues  of  the  school  there 
are  certain  special  lessons  that  ought,  by  all  means, 
to  be  emphasized  —  particularly  by  the  teacher  in 
the  public  schools.  They  are :  respect  for  school 
property,  school  loyalty,  gratitude  for  school  privi- 
leges, and  an  active  apjpreciation  of  the  value  of  the 
school  ior\  the  individual  and  for  society.  The  first 
of  these  ought  to  be  taught  as  soon  as  the  pupil  enters 
the  school,  and  systematically  continued  through  at 
least  the  first  five  grades.  The  pupil  must  be  made 
to  understand  that  the  building  he  is  occupying,  the 
books  and  desks,  etc.,  he  is  using  are  not  his  own. 
They  are  the  property  of  others  who  are  generously 
allowing  him  the  use  of  them,  and  that  he  is  not  only 
grossly  disrespectful,  unjust,  and  in  a  sense  dishonest, 
but  also  basely  ungrateful  when  he  defaces  the  school 


Io6       MORAL  TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL  AND   HOME 

building,  cuts  or  scratches  a  desk,  and  mutilates  a 
book.  This  lesson  should  be  taught  him  both  by  the 
direct  and  indirect  methods.  It  is  exceedingly  de- 
sirable to  develop  in  the  body  of  pupils  a  fine  spirit 
of  school  loyalty,  which  not  only  takes  pride  in  the 
high  grade  of  its  scholarship,  and  its  high  standards  of 
honor,  but  which  takes  pride  also  in  its  school  build- 
ing and  its  equipment.  If  this  spirit  of  loyalty  be 
too  much  to  expect  from  children  of  the  lower 
grades,  it  is  certainly  not  too  much  to  expect  from 
children  of  the  higher  grades.  And  the  teachers  of 
these  grades  ought  to  bend  their  energies  toward 
developing  a  spirit  which  not  only  contributes  to 
the  moral  wholesomeness  of  the  school  atmosphere, 
but  which  serves  also  as  a  protection  to  school 
property. 

The  lesson  of  gratitude  for  school  privileges  is  a 
lesson  that  certainly  should  not  be  overlooked  in  the 
moral  education  of  the  child.  The  pupil  is  a  bene- 
ficiary of  the  community,  and  he  ought  to  be  made  to 
understand  what  that  means.  So  far  as  his  education 
is  concerned  he  is  supported  by  the  public,  and  to  the 
pubhc  he  owes  an  immense  debt  —  a  debt  that  he 
can  never  adequately  repay.  Certainly  gratitude  is 
small  enough  recompense  for  what  he  receives.  Not 
until  he  becomes  a  taxpayer  does  he  in  any  material 
manner  make  a  return  for  the  privileges  accorded  him. 
So  it  is  weU  for  the  teacher  to  lead  him  into  a  grateful 


THE    SOCIAL  LIFE  IO7 

appreciation  of  the  invaluable  favors  conferred  upon 
him  by  the  community.  Especially  in  the  upper 
grades  —  just  before  many  pupils  permanently  leave 
the  school  —  ought  these  lessons  to  be  imparted. 
Here,  in  addition  to  the  moral  lesson  taught  in  story 
or  biography,  the  direct  method  may  be  used.  It 
might  be  well  for  the  teacher  in  a  more  formal  and 
direct  manner  to  call  the  pupil's  attention  to  the  nature 
of  this  moral  obligation,  and  try  to  beget  in  him  an 
abiding  appreciation  of  the  generosity  of  the  com- 
munity. To  learn  this  lesson  will  not  only  make  him 
a  better  individual,  but  also  a  better  citizen. 

Another  lesson  that  the  pupil  should  learn  in  this 
connection  is  the  value  of  the  school  for  the  individ- 
ual and  for  the  community.  This,  indeed,  will  un- 
doubtedly help  in  establishing  him  in  the  other  vir- 
tues relating  to  the  social  life  of  the  school.  Once 
he  is  really  made  to  see  how  the  school  fits  him,  not 
only  for  his  life  as  a  breadwinner,  but  also,  in  a  large 
measure,  for  exercising  in  a  much  better  manner  the 
functions  of  his  entire  complex  nature,  he  will  see  that 
the  school  more  than  anything  else,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  the  home,  ministers  to  his  personal  wel- 
fare. It  is  one  of  his  best  friends.  In  a  similar  man- 
ner he  can  be  made  to  see  how  the  school  ministers  to 
the  welfare  of  the  community.  If  this  be  done,  when 
he  becomes  a  citizen,  the  interests  of  the  school  are 
likely  to  be  guarded  more  jealously  by  him,  and  this 


Io8        MORAL   TRAINING   IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

great  institution  will  become  more  efficient  as  a  moral 
force  in  the  community  life. 

In  our  endeavor  to  establish  the  pupil  in  the  virtues 
of  the  social  life  of  the  school  the  following  graded 
scheme  (pp.  iio-iii)  will  prove  serviceable. 

In  conclusion,  it  should  be  said,  that  play  affords  a 
splendid  opportunity  to  put  into  practice  many  of 
the  social  virtues,  and  to  guard  against  many  of  the 
social  vices.  A  wise  teacher  will  take  advantage  of 
this  splendid  opportunity  to  make  vital  —  to  clothe 
with  flesh  and  blood  —  the  important  moral  lessons 
that  she  is  dealing  with  in  the  schoolroom.  In  the 
class  she  makes  the  virtuous  or  vicious  characters  live 
in  the  imagination  of  tlie  child ;  but  on  the  playground 
she  gives  the  children  an  object  lesson  in  actual  life. 
Lessons  in  the  virtues  of  fairness,  kindness,  generosity, 
cooperation,  and  the  corresponding  vices  especially 
may  be  learned  from  play.  A  wise  teacher  will  not 
absent  herself  from  the  playground,  even  where  a 
supervisor  of  play  is  employed.  Rather  will  she 
participate  in  the  play  of  the  children,  and  make  her 
participation  a  means  of  inculcating  important  moral 
lessons,  and  a  means  of  establishing  the  children  in  the 
important  virtues  that  ought  to  obtain  on  the  play- 
ground, and  which  constitute  so  large  a  part  of  the 
well-being  of  the  individual  and  of  society. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  stories  which  may  be  used 
in  connection  with  the  school  virtues :  — 


THE    SOCIAL   LITE  lOQ 

"Wellington  and  the  Plowboy,"  "Billy,  Betty,  and 
Ben  and  the  Circus,"  "The  Seven  Ways  of  the  Woods," 
"To  a  Child,"  "A  Persian  Lad,"  "The  Unseen  Playmate," 
"Partners,"  and  "The  Fox  and  the  Stork,"  from  The 
Golden  Ladder  Book. 

"The  Jackal  and  the  Spring,"  "Red  Stars  and  Black," 
"The  School  Picnic,"  "Forgive  and  Forget,"  and  "A 
Quarrel  among  Quails,"  from  The  Golden  Path  Book. 

"Little  Franz's  Last  Lesson"  and  "Tarlton,"  from 
The  Golden  Door  Book. 

"Billy's  Football  Team,"  and  "Little  Dafifydowndilly, " 
from  The  Golden  Key  Book. 

"One  Good  Turn  Deserves  Another"  and  "Billy's 
Prize  Essay,"  from  The  Golden  Word  Book. 

"The  Teacher's  Vocation"  and  "Ingratitude,"  from 
The  Golden  Deed  Book. 

"  The  Bay  Colt  Learns  to  Mind, "  from  Among  the  Farm- 
yard People.  "The  Naughty  Comet,"  from  Totals  Merry 
Winter,  by  Laura  E.  Richards.  The  William  Henry  Letters, 
pp.  29,  2>2>,  36,  46-54,  59,  66-68,  126,  152.  "The  Christ- 
mas Monks,"  from  Story  Land.  "The  New  Teacher," 
by  Edward  Eggleston,  in  Howe's  Fourth  Reader.  "Mrs. 
Walker's  Betsy,"  from  Whittier's  Child  Life  in  Prose. 
"Arthur's  First  Night  at  Rugby,"  from  Tom  Brown's 
School  Days,  by  Thomas  Hughes.  "In  School  Days," 
by  J.  G.  Whittier.  "The  Loyal  Elephant, "  from  Marie  L. 
Shedlock's  Collection  of  Eastern  Stories  and  Legends. 

"  My  Brother's  Schoolmistress, "  by  Edmondo  de  Amicis, 
from  Prose  Every  Child  Should  Know.  "Exit  Tyrannus, " 
from  Kenneth  Grahame's  Golden  Age.  "The  Youth  of 
the  Emperor  Marcus  Aurelius,"  by  F.  W.  Farrar.  "The 
Schoolmaster  is  Abroad,"  by  Lord  Brougham,  from  Prose 
Every  Child  Should  Know. 


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MORAL  TRAINING   IN  THE   SCHOOL   AND   HOME 


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THE    SOCIAL   LIFE  III 


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CHAPTER  VII 

THE    SOCIAL   LIFE    (tHE   COMMUNITY) 

The  child  is  also  a  member  of  a  larger  social  circle 
than  is  represented  by  the  family  and  the  school.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  community.  As  he  grows  older 
he  becomes  more  and  more  related  to  this  larger 
society,  and  his  sphere  of  duty  is  enlarged.  In  an 
important  sense  the  relations  that  he  sustains  to  its 
members  are  essentially  the  same  as  those  he  sustains 
to  the  members  of  the  family,  and  to  the  members  of 
the  school,  and  the  moral  obligations  that  grow  out  of 
these  relations  are  also  practically  the  same.  Hence 
the  virtues  and  vices  involved  in  his  moral  develop- 
ment in  his  relations  to  the  family  and  school  are  those 
which  call  for  consideration  in  his  relation  to  the  com- 
munity. This  being  the  case,  we  need  not  dwell  long 
upon  them,  as  they  have  already  been  considered 
somewhat  at  length  in  both  of  the  chapters  relating 
to  the  family  and  the  school. 

It  will  doubtless  be  recalled  that  the  social  virtues 
treated  of  there  were  justice,  truthfulness,  honesty, 
kindness,  courtesy,  generosity,  loyalty,  etc.  It 
will  be  seen  on  a  little  reflection  that  these  are  the 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE  II3 

virtues  that  obtain  also  in  the  larger  society  called 
the  community,  and  that  the  reasons  for  their  practice 
are  the  same.  If,  for  example,  justice  is  obligatory 
upon  the  child  in  the  family,  and  in  the  school,  it  is 
likewise  obligatory  for  him  to  regard  the  rights  of 
others  in  his  relations  to  the  community.  Indeed, 
the  practice  of  this  virtue  becomes  all  the  more  im- 
perative because  of  the  larger  interests  at  stake,  and 
the  child  will  doubtless  find  an  infringement  on  the 
rights  of  others  in  the  community  will  not  be  treated 
with  the  same  consideration  or  leniency  that  it  re- 
ceives sometimes  in  the  family  and  the  school.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  honesty.  Its  importance  for 
society  is  apparent  at  once.  The  community  could 
not  exist  without  it,  and  the  child  will  soon  find  that 
here,  too,  the  community  is  more  exacting  than  the 
family  and  the  school.  Men  and  women  jealously 
guard  their  own  interests,  and  dishonesty  is  treated 
with  severity.  Truthfulness,  too,  is  just  as  necessary 
in  the  community  as  in  the  family  and  the  school,  and 
it  is  "enforced"  by  the  same  sanctions.  Society 
can  no  more  exist  on  the  basis  of  a  lie  than  the  family 
or  the  school  can.  Justice,  honesty,  and  truthfulness 
make  for  the  highest  well-being  of  society,  and,  there- 
fore, for  the  individual ;  for,  in  the  final  analysis,  the 
real  good  of  the  individual  is  coincident  with  the  good 
of  society. 

While   the   same   remarks  apply   to  kindness,  the 


114        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

teacher  may  find  it  necessary  to  emphasize  this  virtue 
in  the  pupil's  relation  to  society  a  little  more  than  in 
his  relation  to  the  family  and  to  the  school.  Mem- 
bers of  the  community  are  not  as  close  to  the  child 
as  are  members  of  the  school.  Hence,  the  child  does 
not  feel  the  force  of  the  moral  obligation  as  it  relates 
to  kindness  quite  as  imperatively  as  he  does  in  its  re- 
lation to  those  with  whom  he  is  more  immediately 
associated.  This  is  true,  indeed,  with  reference  to  all 
of  the  social  virtues  whose  opposites  are  not  punished 
with  severe  rebuke  or  legal  punishment,  as  is,  for  ex- 
ample, dishonesty.  Hence,  it  would  be  well  for  the 
teacher  to  emphasize  the  moral  obligation  of  kindness 
a  little  more  when  deahng  with  the  child's  relation  to 
the  community.  He  ought  to  be  taught  to  show 
kindness  to,  and  sympathy  for,  those  in  pain  or  ill- 
ness, in  sorrow  or  misfortune.  There  is  so  much 
in  every  community  that  calls  for  sympathy  and 
kindness  that  the  lesson  can  be  very  forcibly  brought 
home  to  every  pupil. 

So  far  as  courtesy  is  concerned,  it  may  be  said  that 
it  is  easier  to  develop  the  spirit  of  courtesy  and  good 
manners  in  the  child  in  his  relations  to  the  family  and 
the  school  than  in  his  relations  to  society,  for  reasons 
similar  to  those  mentioned  when  speaking  of  kindness. 
The  moral  imperative  seems  less  binding,  because  of 
the  apparent  remoteness  of  the  community  relation, 
and  this  community  relation  seems  still  more  remote, 


THE   SOCIAL    LIFE  II5 

and  the  moral  obligation  less  urgent,  when  it  concerns 
those  whom  the  child,  for  some  reason  or  other,  re- 
gards as  his  inferiors — as  servants,  the  poor,  strangers, 
and  foreigners.  The  child  should  be  taught  the  les- 
son that  courtesy,  as  a  moral  obligation,  is  universally 
binding ;  that  it  is  a  duty  we  owe  to  all  persons  — 
to  the  poor,  the  aged,  the  infirm,  servants,  guests, 
strangers,  citizens  of  other  lands,  etc.  It  is  for  the 
child's  own  interests,  as  well  as  for  the  interests  of 
society,  that  he  should  develop  the  spirit  of  courtesy 
and  that  he  should  manifest  this  spirit  in  becoming 
manners.  Now  the  child  may  have  the  spirit  of 
courtesy,  and  yet  not  know  how  to  express  it.  There- 
fore, he  should  be  taught  those  forms  of  conduct 
which  obtain  among  cultivated  people.  Society  is 
bound  together  by  convention  and  custom,  and  the 
child  should  know  what  these  are.  In  his  interactions 
with  society  he  should  know  what  is  the  proper  thing 
to  do.  This  should  be  a  part  of  his  school  training,  — 
all  the  more,  as  was  previously  stated,  because  in 
so  many  instances  he  does  not  receive  such  training 
at  home.  He  will  learn,  of  course,  by  practice  in  the 
schools,  what  many  of  these  formahties  are.  But  it 
is  desirable  also  that  to  the  actual  practice  in  the 
social  code  of  the  schoolroom  should  be  added  that 
indirect  training  which  is  given  in  the  class  in  ele- 
mentary morals. 

In  thus  training  the  pupil  the  teacher  has  to  con- 


Il6        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

tend  with  certain  faults  and  vices,  and  the  faults,  if 
not  corrected,  often  develop  into  vices.  They  are : 
bashfulness,  which  is  often  sheepish  in  its  character ; 
and  boorishness,  which  manifests  itself  in  either  ig- 
norant or  willful  indifference  to  the  social  conventions 
or  rules.  When  such  boorishness  is  willful,  it,  of  course, 
amounts  to  disrespect  and  contempt. 

Much  of  the  boy's  or  girl's  bashfulness  is  due  to  ig- 
norance of  what  is  required  in  good  manners.  Knowl- 
edge of,  and  practice  in,  the  social  courtesies  will 
therefore  help  largely  to  cure  such  bashfulness.  Boor- 
ishness is  often  due  to  an  excess  of  animalism.  Wasn't 
it  Plato  who  said  the  boy  is  the  worst  of  all  wild  ani- 
mals? Such  animahsm  can  be  gradually  softened 
by  daily  practice  in  good  manners  in  the  school. 
Where  boorishness  is  willful  it  should  be  dealt  with 
uncompromisingly,  as  it  is  immoral  in  character, 
showing,  as  it  does,  disrespect  and  contempt  for  others, 
and  for  that  which  society  regards  as  essential  to  its 
highest  well-being,  and  which  is  certainly  essential  to 
the  well-being  of  the  school. 

One  word  more  may  be  added.  Although  there  is 
little  danger  of  excessive  ceremonialism  on  the  part 
of  children,  there  is,  at  least,  some  danger  of  excessive 
formalism  in  the  sense  that  these  courtesies  may  be 
viewed  too  much  from  the  standpoint  of  external- 
ism,  and  thus  their  real  spirit  may  be  lost.  The  pupil 
should  be  gradually  led  to  apprehend  them,  not  from 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE  II7 

a  mere  social  and  assthetic,  but  also  from  a  moral 
standpoint.  He  should  be  taught  to  apprehend  them 
as  expressions  of  good  will  —  of  respect,  of  deference, 
of  proper  regard. 

Generosity  to  those  outside  of  the  family  and  school 
circles  does  not  appeal  to  the  child  quite  as  strongly 
as  when  related  to  those  inside.  Children,  of  course, 
often  take  a  delight  in  participating  in  charity  when 
the  sacrifice  involved  is  really  borne  by  the  parent  or 
by  others.  But  when  it  calls  for  an  actual  sacrifice 
on  their  part,  the  generous  or  charitable  spirit  is  not 
so  ardent.  Still  their  natural  altruism  is  present  to 
work  upon,  and  it  furnishes  a  basis  for  the  teacher  to 
develop  the  virtue  of  generosity.  This  is  an  age  of 
charitable  giving,  and  the  "atmosphere"  constitutes 
a  favorable  environment  for  the  cultivation  of  this 
virtue.  There  is  such  a  variety  of  needs  on  the  part 
of  many  that  the  child's  sympathies  can  be  enlisted, 
and  this  will  often  result  in  action.  Generosity  to 
the  poor,  to  the  unfortunate,  and  to  the  erring  is  a 
virtue  that  calls  strongly  for  cultivation  in  a  world 
of  inequalities,  and  it  will  be  worth  all  of  the  effort 
the  teacher  puts  forth  to  establish  the  child  in  this 
splendid  virtue.  Literature  and  history  abound  in 
noble  examples  of  generosity,  and  the  teacher  will 
often  find  that  the  child  will  sympathetically  respond 
to  them.  He  will  soon  be  led  to  see  that  generosity 
is  better  than  selfishness ;    that  it  not  only  aids  the 


Il8        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

helpless  and  the  needy,  but  also  proves  a  blessing  to 
society  and  to  the  beneficent  person  himself.  The 
aesthetic  side  of  the  virtue  will  appeal  to  him  also. 
There  is  a  beauty  in  acts  of  charity  that  arrests  our 
attention  and  calls  forth  our  admiration  for  the 
charitable  person.  There  is  also  an  ugliness  in  the 
penuriousness  —  the  stingy  selfishness  —  of  him  who 
withholds  a  helping  hand. 

All  these  virtues  meet  in  that  quality  of  the  good 
citizen  which  is  called  public  spirit.  This  implies  a 
consideration  on  his  part,  not  only  for  his  own  family 
and  neighborhood,  but  for  the  whole  community. 
Indeed,  public  spirit  at  its  best  makes  one  a  citizen 
of  the  world.  It  is  a  cosmopolitan  interest,  which 
concerns  itself  with  international  relationships,  with 
the  commerce  of  states,  and  the  products  of  countries, 
with  governments,  and  movements  tending  to  make 
them  more  free  and  more  beneficial  to  the  people,  with 
wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  with  all  questions  of  the  day. 

Children  may  be  given  this  spirit  in  their  studies 
of  geography  and  of  history.  The  wise  teacher  con- 
nects these  studies,  so  far  as  possible,  with  the  news 
which  is  contained  in  the  daily  paper,  and  conducts  a 
current  events  class  in  which  the  geography  and  his- 
tory of  the  books  are  vitally  associated  with  the  con- 
cerns of  the  present  moment.  If  there  is  war  in  the 
Balkan  States,  the  lay  of  the  land  is  a  matter  of 
interest  to  all  alert  minds.     If  Constantinople  is  in 


THE   SOCIAL   LIFE  II9 

peril,  the  teacher  will  read  to  the  class  in  history  that 
famous  passage  in  Gibbon  which  describes  its  capture 
by  the  Turks,  in  1453:  *'At  daybreak,  without  the 
customary  signal  of  the  moving  gun,  the  Turks  as- 
saulted the  city  by  land  and  sea ;  and  the  similitude 
of  a  twined  or  twisted  thread  has  been  apphed  to  the 
closeness  and  continuity  of  their  line  of  attack." 
The  words  take  on  a  new  and  dramatic  interest  from 
the  conditions  of  the  immediate  present. 

The  moral  value  of  such  association  of  the  old  time 
with  the  new,  and  of  events  with  maps,  is  found  in 
the  development  of  a  habit  of  inteUigent  and  sym- 
pathetic interest  in  the  world.  This,  of  itself,  elevates 
character.  It  is  of  especial  importance  in  some- 
what isolated  places,  in  country  schools,  where  char- 
acter is  attacked  by  monotony.  In  such  places  evil 
is  often  done  because  there  is  nothing  of  interest  to 
occupy  the  mind.  In  such  schools  a  map  of  the 
eastern  world,  on  which  every  morning  the  teacher 
indicates  by  the  moving  of  bits  of  colored  paper  the 
advance  and  retreat  of  contending  powers,  will  have 
the  fascination  of  a  moving  picture. 

These  large  interests  will  find  local  application. 
The  good  school  is  a  Good  Government  Club,  or  a 
Village  Improvement  Society,  within  the  limits  of  its 
own  proper  abilities.  When  a  child  understands  his 
relation  to  the  cleanness  of  the  public  streets,  he  has 
learaed  the  alphabet  of  good  citizenship.     The  un- 


I20       MORAL   TRAINING    IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

taught  child  who  throws  paper  about  the  schoolyard 
is  taking  daily  lessons  in  that  civic  indifference  which 
is  at  the  heart  of  most  of  our  political  distresses. 
The  legend  Who  Will  Pick  It  Up?  may  usefully  be 
exhibited  prominently  in  the  hall  of  every  school. 
The  answer  to  it  is  one  of  the  first  principles  of  social 
responsibility.  If  we  tear  a  piece  of  paper  into  bits, 
and  scatter  the  bits  along  the  way,  one  of  two  results 
must  follow :  either  the  torn  papers  lie  there,  disfig- 
uring the  place,  or  else  somebody  must  pick  them  up. 

It  is  in  the  direction  of  good  morals  that  children 
be  set  to  do  their  part  in  the  work  of  keeping  the  town 
clean.  The  streets  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  school 
may  be  made  an  exercise-ground  for  clubs  of  boys  and 
girls,  who  have  been  instructed  in  the  virtue  of  public 
spirit  and  are  ready  to  practice  it.  This  is  what 
Ruskin  did  at  Oxford  when  he  sent  his  pupils  out  to 
mend  a  road.  The  fact  that  one  of  these  amateur 
road  menders  was  Arnold  Toynbee,  out  of  whose 
impulse  came  the  whole  mission  of  social  settlements, 
shows  that  such  lessons  may  have  consequences  which 
exceed  all  expectation. 

The  school  may  profitably  be  made  acquainted 
with  the  city.  This  will  be  for  the  sake  of  apprecia- 
tion rather  than  of  criticism.  The  teacher  will  find 
an  immediate  opposition  among  citizens  to  any  at- 
tack upon  things  as  they  are.  It  may  be  well  that 
such  an  attack  ought  to  be  made,  but  not  by  children. 


THE   SOCIAL   LIFE  121 

Even  if  they  are  enlisted  in  the  cleaning  of  the  streets, 
it  need  not  be  suggested  to  them  that  the  city  council 
ought  to  see  to  that.  The  right  beginnings  of  civic 
betterment,  so  far  at  least  as  the  school  is  concerned, 
are  positive  rather  than  negative.  The  teacher  will 
endeavor  to  acquaint  the  school  with  all  the  good 
things  in  the  town.  The  children  will  be  informed 
regarding  various  public  institutions,  what  they  are 
and  how  they  work,  and  the  information  will  then  be 
illustrated  by  visits  to  such  places.  They  will  be 
taken  in  little  groups  to  fire-engine  houses,  hospitals, 
public  libraries,  art  galleries,  playgrounds,  open-air 
schools,  homes  for  aged  people.  They  will  see  the 
Poor  Commissioners  and  the  Associated  Charities 
in  operation.  They  will  visit  notable  factories  in 
which  the  characteristic  products  of  the  town  are 
made.  They  will  see  the  inside  of  the  town  hall,  meet 
the  mayor,  and  be  shown  the  various  departments 
of  administration. 

Such  instruction  and  experience  as  this  creates 
and  directs  public  spirit.  The  children  begin  to  think 
of  the  city  as  a  beneficent  institution,  carried  on  by 
men  chosen  and  employed  by  the  citizens  to  per- 
form social  duties,  to  maintain  order,  clean  the  streets, 
carry  out  improvements,  and  provide  generally  for 
the  well-being  of  the  place.  They  will  acquire  the 
habit  of  regarding  public  officers  somewhat  as  a  cor- 
poration regards  its  paid  officials,  in  the  light  of  the 


122        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

services  which  they  render  to  the  community.  They 
will  perceive  that  pubhc  positions  are  not  prizes  to 
be  awarded  to  men  for  diligent  political  work,  but  are 
to  be  given,  as  other  responsible  positions  are  given, 
to  the  men  who  are  best  equipped  to  do  the  work. 
They  will  grow  up  into  citizens  who  will  demand  ex- 
pert efficiency  in  ofl5.ce,  and  will  consider  it  absurd 
to  choose  an  undertaker  for  commissioner  of  streets 
because  he  was  active  at  the  polls. 

The  elemental  need  is  a  true  and  substantial  in- 
terest in  the  town,  the  state,  and  the  nation.  Out  of 
that  all  good  things  may  be  expected.  For  the  initial 
necessity,  if  we  are  to  make  our  city  answer  to  our 
ideals,  is  to  take  care  that  it  is  inhabited  by  good 
citizens,  beginning  with  ourselves. 

Here,  too,  in  addition  to  the  methods  already 
mentioned,  the  story  method  may  prove  helpful  in 
training  the  child  for  good  citizenship.  There  are 
so  many  fine  examples  of  genuine  public  spirit  which 
history  and  our  present  times  afford  that  the  story 
of  those  who  have  labored  for  civic  betterment  can- 
not fail  to  be  morally  helpful  to  the  pupil.  To  pre- 
sent such  history  and  biography  to  the  child  will  not 
fail  to  result  in  a  wholesome  mental  and  moral  re- 
action. 

The  following  graded  scheme  (pp.  124-125)  will  as- 
sist in  training  pupils  in  the  virtues  relating  to  the 
community. 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE  1 23 

In  teaching  the  virtues  of  the  community  life  the 
following  list  of  stories  may  be  used  :  — 

"The  Horseand  the  Laden  Ass,"  "The  Basket  Woman," 
"The  Shower  of  Gold,"  "Little  Ted,"  "The  World's 
Music,"  "The  Boy  Who  Recommended  Himself,"  "The 
Two  Friends,"  "Deeds  of  Kindness,"  "Dr.  Goldsmith's 
Medicine,"  "Hans,  the  Shepherd  Boy,"  "A  Thanksgiving 
Fable,"  and  "The  Bell  of  Justice,"  from  The  Golden  Ladder 
Book. 

"The  Arrow  and  the  Song,"  "How  the  King  Visited 
Robin  Hood,"  "The  Cub's  Triumph,"  "Mercury  and  the 
Woodman,"  "The  Old  Woman  and  the  Doctor,"  "The 
Discontented  Pendulum,"  "The  Blind  Man  and  the 
Lame  Man,"  "The  Talkative  Tortoise,"  "The  Magic 
Mask,"  "Sara  Crewe,"  "The  Half-chick,"  " Jean  Valjean 
and  the  Good  Bishop,"  "Why  Violets  Have  Golden 
Hearts,"  "St.  George  and  the  Dragon,"  "Companions  of 
Differing  Humors,"  and  "The  Partners,"  from  The  Golden 
Path  Book. 

"An  Oriental  Story,"  "Nobility,"  "How  Morgan  Le 
Fay  Tried  to  Kill  King  Arthur,"  "Tray  and  Tiger," 
"The  Red  Thread  of  Honor,"  "The  Ladle  That  Fell  from 
the  Moon,"  "The  Lucky  Coin,"  "The  Two  Dealers," 
"Little  at  First  but  Great  at  Last,"  "The  Snappy  Snapping 
Turtle,"  "The  Friends,"  "The  Loving  Cup  Which  Was 
Made  of  Iron,"  "The  Tongue  and  How  to  Use  It,"  "It 
is  Quite  True,"  "The  Fairy  Who  Judged  Her  Neighbors," 
"Neighbor  Mine,"  "Can  and  Could,"  "The  Planting  of 
the  Apple  Tree,"  "Mignon,"  "How  the  Stag  Was  Saved," 
"Fidelity,"  "Orpheus  and  Eurydice,"  "The  Story  of 
Peter  Cooper,"  and  "Casal  Novo,"  from  The  Golden  Door 
Book. 


124 


MORAL   TRAINING   IN    THE    SaiOOL   AND   HOME 


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126        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

"The  Apostle  of  the  Lepers,"  "Prince  Magha," 
"The  Sparrow,"  "King  Robert  of  Sicily,"  "Jaffar," 
"The  Emperor's  New  Clothes,"  "The  Pied  Piper  of 
Hamelin,"  "The  Pigeon  and  the  Crow,"  "For  A'  That," 
"Of  the  Slaying  of  the  Dragon,"  "Santa  Filomena," 
"Queen  Louise,"  "Abou  Ben  Adhem,"  "The  Great  Horse- 
man," "A  Man  Who  Loved  His  Fellow-men,"  "The 
House  by  the  Side  of  the  Road,"  "The  Ambulance  Call 
of  the  Sea,"  "The  True  Siory-  of  an  01:i  Hawthorn  Tree," 
"The  Daughter  of  the  Custodian,"  "  Geirald  the  Coward," 
"Say  Not,  the  Struggle  Naught  Availeth,"  "The  Blind 
Man  and  the  Talking  Dog,"  "The  Three  Bells,"  "The 
Story  of  the  Chameleon,"  "Whatever  the  Weather  May 
Be,"  "Echo  and  Narcissus,"  and  "A  Great  Repentance," 
from  The  Golden  Key  Book. 

"The Tournament,"  "The  Inchcape  Rock,"  "A  Modest 
Wit,"  "A  Noble  Woman,"  "Florence  Nightingale," 
"Forbearance,"  "He  Who  Has  a  Thousand  Friends," 
"  The  Risks  of  a  Fireman's  Life,"  "  A  Hero  of  the  Fishing 
Fleet,"  "One  of  the  Busiest  Women  of  New  York,"  "The 
Master-Player,"  "The  Miraculous  Pitcher,"  "Incident 
of  the  French  Camp,"  and  "Content,"  from  The  Golden 
Word  Book. 

"Prospice,"  "Silas  Marner's  Eppie,"  "Aspecta 
Medusa,"  "Sir  Artegall  and  the  Knight  Sanglier," 
"Mercy,"  "The  Hog  Family,"  "Friendship,"  "A  Battle  of 
Peace,"  "The  Man  with  the  Hoe,"  "Herve  Riel,"  "The 
Battle  of  Waterloo,"  and  "Captain  Scott,"  from  The  Gol- 
den Deed  Book. 

"The  Stolen  Com,"  from  For  the  Children's  Hour. 
The  William  Henry  Letters,  p.  38.  "The  Tiger  Gets  His 
Deserts,"  "The  Sunling,"  and  "The  Wolf  and  the  Cat," 


THE    SOCIAL    LIFE  1 27 

from  The  Talking  Beasts.  "Charley,  the  Story-teller," 
from  Whittier's  Child  Life  in  Poetry.  "The  Country 
Where  the  Mice  Eat  Iron"  and  "The  Rogue  and  the 
Simpleton,"  from  Eva  March  Tappan's  Folk  Stories 
and  Fables.  "The  Nose  Tree"  and  "The  Story  of  Zirac," 
from  Tales  of  Laughter.  "Father  Bruin  in  the  Corner," 
from  Tales  from  the  Fjeld.  "The  Poplar  Tree,"  from 
Nature  Myths  and  Stories,  by  Flora  J.  Cooke.  "What 
the  Toys  Do,"  by  Fred  E.  Weatherly,  from  A  Book  of 
Children's  Verse.  "How  the  Rhinoceros  Got  His  Skin," 
from  Just  So  Stories.  "Story  that  the  Swallow  Didn't 
Tell,"  from  Among  the  Farmyard  People.  "The  Swiss 
Clock's  Story,"  "The  Samovar's  Story,"  and  "The 
Austrian  Paper  Knife's  Story,"  from  Mrs.  Burton  Harri- 
son's Bric-a-Brac  Stories.  Story  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
and  Queen  Elizabeth. 

"  Bishop  Hatto,"  by  Robert  Sou  they.  "  Singh  Rajah  and 
the  Cunning  Little  Jackals,"  from  Old  Deccan  Days.  "  The 
Little  Thief,"  from  Horace  E.  Scudder's  Book  of  Legends. 
"The  Old  Man's  Dog  Shiro,"  from  Fairy  Tales  from  Far 
Japan,  by  Susan  Ballard,  ^^^sop's  "The  Wolf  in  Disguise," 
"The  Ape  and  the  Dolphin,"  and  "The  Mouse  and 
the  Frog."  "The  Magic  Kettle,"  from  Lang's  Crimson 
Fairy  Book.  "Green  Jacket,"  from  Totals  Merry  Winter. 
"The  Queen's  Wand,"  from  Mopsa  the  Fairy,  by  Jean 
Ingelow.  "The  Wild  Duck  Shooter,"  "The  Moorish 
Gold,"  "The  Ouphe  of  the  Wood,"  and  "The  Lonely 
Rock,"  from  Stories  Told  to  a  Child,  by  Jean  Ingelow.  "A 
Fortune"  and  "The  Coming  of  the  King,"  from  The 
Golden  Windows.  "The  Silver  Penny"  and  "The  Slippers 
of  Abou  Karem,"  from  The  Golden  Fairy  Book.  "The 
Story  of  Findelkind,"  from  Bimbi,  by  "Ouida." 


I  28        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

"Lady  Jane  Grey,"  from  Twitchell's  Famous  Children. 
"The  Merchant  of  Seri,"  from  Collection  of  Eastern  Stories 
and  Legends.  "Turning  the  Grindstone,",  by  Benjamin 
FrankHn,  from  Prose  Every  Child  Should  Know.  "Father 
Grumbler,"  from  Lang's  Aladdin  and  the  Wonderful  Lamp. 
"The  Horse  and  the  Olive,"  from  Baldwin's  Old  Greek 
Stories.  "Prince  Cherry,"  from  The  Little  Lame  Prince, 
by  Miss  Mulock.  "The  Little  Hunchback,"  from  Fairy 
Legejids  of  the  French  Provinces,  translated  by  Mrs.  M. 
Gary.  "The  Quarrelsome  Mole,"  from  Among  the  Forest 
People,  by  Clara  D.  Pierson.  "The  Proud  Chicken," 
from  Chinese  Fables  and  Folk  Stories,  by  Mary  Hayes  Davis 
and  Chow-Leung.  "The  Kind  Hermit,"  from  Stories  from 
the  Classic  Literature  of  Many  Lands.  "The  Fair  White 
City,"  from  In  Story-Land.  "Gunpowder  Perils,"  "The 
Cup  of  Water,"  and  "The  Last  Fight  in  the  Coliseum," 
from  A  Book  of  Golden  Deeds. 

"The  Death  of  King  Arthur,"  by  Sir  Thomas  Malory. 
"  Guinevere,"  from  Tennyson's  Idylls  of  the  King.  "  Meeko 
the  Mischief  Maker,"  from  William  J.  Long's  Secrets  of 
the  Woods.  "Kindly  Hearts  on  Unkindly  Shores," 
from  Down  to  the  Sea.  Hans  Andersen's  "Mermaid" 
and  "The  Daisy."  Dickens's  Christmas  Carol.  "The 
Punishment  of  the  Stingy,"  by  George  Bird  Grinell. 
"Ladders  to  Heaven,"  from  Dandelion  Clocks,  by  Juliana 
Horatia Ewing.  "Prisoners and  Captives "  and  " Gordon," 
from  Mrs.  Lang's  Red  Book  of  Heroes.  "  Life  Savers  of 
Lone  Hill,"  from  American  Book  of  Golden  Deeds.  "A 
Deed  of  Dering-Do"  from  Brave  Deeds,  Young  Folks  Li- 
brary. "David  Livingstone,"  from  Servants  of  the  King, 
by  Robert  E.  Speer. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE   SOCIAL   LIFE    (RELATIONS   TO   ANIMALS) 

In  the  economy  of  Nature  man  sustains  a  close 
relation  to  the  animal  kingdom.  In  the  later  stages  of 
his  development  animals  were  domesticated  by  man, 
and  some  of  them,  as  the  horse,  the  ox,  and  the  dog, 
now  render  him  valuable  service.  So  intimate  has 
this  relation  become  that  a  kind  of  "friendship"  or 
companionship  exists  between  them.  So  marked  is 
this  at  times  that  examples  of  notable  devotion  on  the 
part  of  animals  to  their  masters  and  mistresses  are 
on  record.  Wordsworth's  excellent  poem  "Fidelity," 
which  memorializes  the  faithfulness  of  a  dog  to  his 
master,  is  a  poem  based  on  fact,  and  the  fact  itself 
is  by  no  means  an  isolated  one.  On  the  other  hand, 
so  strong  is  the  regard,  if  not,  indeed,  affection  of  the 
master  or  mistress  for  the  dog  or  horse,  due  to  this 
sense  of  camaraderie,  that  when  the  animal  dies,  they 
experience  a  genuine  grief  or  sorrow. 

Some  ethical  writers,  recognizing  animals  as  not 
only  sentient,  but  social  beings,  and  noting  the  inti- 
mate relationship  between  man  and  animals,  have, 
in  their  classification  of  duties,  spoken  of  "Duties  to 
E  129 


130        MORAL   TRAINING   IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

Animals."  Whether  we  can  properly  speak  of 
''duties"  to  beings  that  are  not  persons  is  question- 
able. If  duties  are  based  on  moral  claims,  and  moral 
claims  belong  only  to  personal  beings,  then  moral 
claims  and  duties  are  correlative,  and,  unless  the  ani- 
mal is  a  person,  we  can  hardly  say  that  it  has  a  moral 
claim  upon  us,  or  that  we  owe  a  duty  to  it.  But, 
whether  this  can  be  strictly  said  or  not,  it  is  at  least 
evident  that  we  owe  it  to  ourselves,  as  well  as  to  the 
Author  of  Nature,  to  be  kind  and  humane  to  every 
being  that  is  capable  of  experiencing  pleasure  and  pain ; 
and,  therefore,  it  practically  amounts  to  the  same  thing 
as  if  we  said  we  owe  duties  to  animals.  So  that  kind- 
ness and  humaneness  in  our  relation  to  animals  are 
really  measures  of  our  moral  worth.  As  Coleridge 
says :  — 

"He  prayeth  well  who  loveth  well 
Both  man  and  bird  and  beast, 

He  prayeth  best  who  loveth  best 
All  things  both  great  and  small ; 

For  the  dear  God  who  loveth  us 
He  made  and  loveth  all." 

Now,  in  our  effort  to  moralize  the  child  in  this  re- 
spect, there  are  a  number  of  things  that,  in  a  sense, 
constitute  obstacles  in  the  way.  In  the  first  place, 
all  along  the  line  of  man's  development  he  has  had  to 
contend  more  or  less  with  beasts  and  birds  of  prey. 
In  the  struggle  for  existence  he  has  been  compelled 


THE    SOCIAL    LITE  I31 

to  take  a  hostile  attitude  toward  a  large  number  of 
such,  and,  even  at  this  late  day,  the  struggle  must 
be  kept  up,  as  in  the  case  of  poisonous  serpents  and, 
in  certain  portions  of  the  earth,  in  the  case  of  fero- 
cious animals.  According  to  biological  evolution  the 
struggle  has  really  worked  an  advantage  to  man  — 
having  proved  to  be  an  important  factor  in  his  de- 
velopment. But,  with  the  extinction  of  some  of  the 
more  ferocious  species,  there  still  survives  in  man 
some  of  the  earlier  ferocious  instincts  which  manifest 
themselves  in  a  useless  slaughter  of  wild  animals  — 
a  kind  of  wild  delight  in  hunting  "big  game." 

Again,  man  being  a  flesh-eating  animal,  in  all  ages 
animals  have  been  slaughtered  to  minister  to  his  bod- 
ily needs.  Such  slaughter  continues  to-day  on  a  tre- 
mendous scale,  and  will  continue  unless  the  race 
should  be  convinced  of  the  sufficiency  of  a  vegetable 
diet.  This  wholesale  slaughter,  even  though  it  seems 
necessary,  and  is  carried  on  in  the  most  humane  fash- 
ion, has  a  more  or  less  demoralizing  tendency,  which 
we  must  reckon  with. 

Again,  in  the  light  of  modern  science,  we  have  found 
that  certain  animals  and  insects  are  bearers  of  dis- 
ease germs,  and  these  are  a  menace  to  the  human  or- 
ganism. So  we  find  it  necessary  to  destroy  them. 
Indeed,  we  find  it  expedient  often  to  visit  wholesale 
destruction  upon  them.  We  teach  our  children  in 
the  home  and  school  to  "swat  the  fly,"  to  kill  the 


132        MOR.A.L    TRAINING   IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

mosquito,  to  destroy  cockroaches,  mice,  and  other 
vermin.  All  this  must  be  done,  and  it  seems  right 
that  it  should  be  done.  But  it  has  a  tendency  more 
or  less  to  dull  our  humaneness,  and  renders  it  more 
difficult  to  teach  the  child  to  exercise  this  virtue  in 
relations,  and  under  conditions,  where  the  destruction 
of  life  is  not  profitable. 

Again,  animals  are  our  inferiors,  and  are  utilized 
for  our  service  and  pleasure.  We  take  away  the 
freedom  of  many.  We  harness  the  horse  and  ox,  we 
stable  the  cow,  we  chain  the  dog,  we  cage  the  bird. 
This  attitude  of  dominion  over  the  animal  world  con- 
stitutes often  a  temptation  to  indulge  in  cruelty  to 
animals.  So  strong  is  this  temptation  that  organiza- 
tions have  sprung  up  to  guard  their  "rights,"  and 
these  "rights"  are  in  some  instances  made  the  sub- 
ject of  state  legislation. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  in  trying  to  teach  the  child 
kindness  to  animals,  the  teacher  is  by  no  means  con- 
fronted with  an  easy  task.  She  has  to  deal  with  in- 
herited tendencies,  and  with  certain  unfavorable  in- 
fluences due  to  environment.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
there  are  some  things  that  help  her  in  her  work. 
It  is  a  very  noticeable  fact  that  young  children  are 
fond  of  animals.  Household  pets,  like  cats  and  dogs 
and  rabbits,  figure  largely  in  the  social  life  of  the  child. 
Indeed,  he  is  often  more  fond  of  them  than  of  persons. 
This  is  doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  at  this  time  of 


THE    SOCIAL   LIFE  1 33 

life  he  has,  in  a  sense,  more  in  common  with  these 
animals  than  he  has  with  man.  This  fondness  does 
not  cease  as  he  grows  older.  The  dog  is  still  the  com- 
panion of  the  boy  and  girl,  and  the  cat  continues  to 
be  the  pet  of  the  girl. 

Still,  despite  all  this,  there  is  both  a  thoughtlessness 
and  cruelty  which  children  manifest  in  their  relation 
to  animals  and  insects  which  make  it  imperative 
for  the  teacher  of  elementary  morals  to  deal  with 
these  vices,  and,  because  of  the  prevalence  of  them, 
it  will  probably  be  best  at  first  to  put  the  emphasis 
on  the  vice  of  cruelty  more  than  on  the  virtue  of  kind- 
ness. In  the  very  young  child  this  cruelty  is  the  re- 
sult of  ignorance  or  thoughtlessness.  He  will  maul 
the  cat  and  dog  as  though  they  were  inanimate  ob- 
jects. He  will  pull  off  the  legs  and  wings  of  the  fly 
as  though  the  fly  had  no  feeling  whatsoever,  and  could 
maintain  its  being  without  these  necessary  members. 
A  little  later  in  life  the  child's  ignorance  and  thought- 
lessness develop  into  a  thoughtlessness  of  a  more 
serious  character,  which  is  sometimes  attended  by 
a  conscious  cruelty.  He  seems  to  dehght  in  ston- 
ing frogs,  birds,  squirrels,  and  other  animals.  In 
many  instances,  through  a  misdirected  generosity  of 
parents  or  friends,  he  is  made  the  owner  of  an  air  gun 
by  which  he  maims  or  kills  birds  or  small  animals. 
In  later  life  such  cruelty  is  often  manifest  in  brutality 
when  dealing  with  domestic  animals,   such  as  the 


134        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

horse,  ox,  and  dog.  Now  all  that  makes  for  brutality 
in  the  child  ought  to  be  curbed.  It  makes  for  im- 
morality, and  the  teacher  of  morals  in  the  schools 
will  prove  recreant  to  her  trust  if  she  fails  to  treat  this 
vice  seriously. 

It  may  be  that  cruelty  of  this  kind  is  to  be  ac- 
counted for  as  merely  the  manifestation  of  ''frag- 
mentary rudiments  of  past  combat,  capture,  and 
kiUing  of  prey  and  enemies,"  ^  and  that  therefore  we 
ought  not  to  be  too  harsh  in  our  judgments  of  the 
boy's  conduct.  But  whether  it  is  to  be  thus  ex- 
plained or  not,  it  is  nevertheless  an  evil,  and  it  is  the 
teacher's  duty  to  do  what  she  can  to  restrain  such 
''atavistic  tendencies."  ^ 

Furthermore,  there  is  a  moral  obligation  here  as 
this  matter  relates  itself  to  society.  A  large  ma- 
jority of  the  community  finds  delight  in  song  birds 
and  in  birds  of  beautiful  plumage.  What  moral 
right  have  we  to  interfere  with  such  delight  simply  to 
gratify  selfish  cruelty  ?  Much  will  be  taken  out  of 
hfe  if  our  song  birds,  and  our  birds  of  gay  plumage, 
eventually  disappear.  Furthermore,  birds  are  of  use 
to  man.  They  eat  insects  and  worms  that  destroy 
our   trees.     Why   should   man  be   deprived   of   this 

^  Burk,  "Teasing  and  Bullying,"  Pedagogical  Seminary,  Vol.  IV. 
1897. 

^  See  W.  B.  Drummond,  "  An  Introduction,  to  Child  Study,"  New 
York  and  London,  1910,  p.  286. 


THE    SOCIAL    LIFE  I35 

service  to  gratify  the  savage  instincts  of  the  boy  with 
the  shotgun,  or  the  boy  after  he  grows  up  and  makes 
use  of  the  more  deadly  rifle  ?  Society  is  awaking 
to  the  danger,  and  is  beginning  a  propaganda  in  the 
interests  of  protecting  our  birds.  Such  a  propaganda 
can  be  best  carried  on  in  the  school.  Here  wanton 
destruction  of  birds  should  be  condemned  as  a  vice, 
to  refrain  from  which  is  a  moral  obligation  that  the 
pupil  owes  to  himself  and  to  society. 

But  thus  far  we  have  been  dwelling  largely  on  the 
negative  side  of  the  subject  — ■  on  the  vices  of  unkind- 
ness  and  cruelty.  Let  us  now  turn  to  the  positive  side 
—  the  virtues  of  kindness  and  humaneness.  Just  how 
much  this  includes  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  determine. 
Whether  it  means  more  than  merely  supplying  the  phy- 
sical wants  of  the  animals  depending  upon  us  might  be 
questioned  by  some.  It  at  least  means  this  much, 
and  this  alone  is  productive  of  moral  results.  Dr. 
Montessori  calls  attention  to  the  effects  of  taking 
care  of  plants  and  animals  on  both  the  intellectual 
and  moral  life  of  young  children.  What  is  true  of 
very  young  children  is  true  of  older  children  as  well. 
She  says :  — 

"First.  The  child  is  initiated  into  observation  of  the 
phenomena  of  life.  He  stands  with  respect  to  the  plants 
and  animals  in  relations  analogous  to  those  in  which  the 
observing  teacher  stands  towards  him.  Little  by  little, 
as  interest  and  observation  grow,  his  zealous  care  for  the 


136        MORAL   TRAINING    IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

living  creatures  grows  also,  and  in  this  way  the  child 
can  logically  be  brought  to  appreciate  the  care  which 
the  mother  and  the  teacher  take  of  him. 

"Second.  The  child  is  initiated  into  foresight  by  way 
of  auto-education;  when  he  knows  that  the  life  of  the 
plants  that  have  been  sown  depends  upon  his  care  in 
watering  them,  and  that  of  the  animals,  upon  his  diligence 
in  feeding  them,  without  which  the  little  plant  dries  up 
and  the  animals  suffer  hunger,  the  child  becomes  vigilant, 
as  one  who  is  beginning  to  feel  a  mission  in  life.  More- 
over, a  voice  quite  different  from  that  of  his  mother  and  his 
teacher  calling  him  to  his  duties  is  speaking  here,  exhorting 
him  never  to  forget  the  task  he  has  undertaken.  It  is 
the  plaintive  voice  of  the  needy  life  which  lives  by  his 
care.  Between  the  child  and  the  living  creatures  which 
he  cultivates  there  is  born  a  mysterious  correspondence 
which  induces  the  child  to  fulfill  certain  determinate  acts 
without  the  intervention  of  the  teacher,  that  is,  leads 
him  to  an  auto-education. 

"The  rewards  which  the  child  reaps  also  remain  between 
him  and  nature :  one  fine  day  after  long,  patient  care  in 
carrying  food  and  straw  to  the  brooding  pigeons,  behold 
the  little  ones  !  behold  a  number  of  chickens  peeping  about 
the  setting  hen  which  yesterday  sat  motionless  in  her 
brooding  place  !  behold  one  day  the  tender  little  rabbits 
in  the  hutch  where  formerly  dwelt  in  solitude  the  pair  of 
big  rabbits  to  which  he  had  not  a  few  times  lovingly 
carried  the  green  vegetables  left  over  in  his  mother's 
kitchen!"  ^ 

Observation,  foresight,  patience,  sense  of  responsi- 
bility, kindness,  industry — all  result  from  such  a  prov- 

1  "The  Montessori  Method,"  New  York,  191 2,  pp.  156-157. 


THE   SOCIAL   LIFE  137 

idence  which  children  exercise  over  animals,  and  it 
is  well  to  encourage  them  in  it  wherever  practicable. 

Furthermore,  the  nature  of  animals  is  such,  that 
our  relation  to  them  involves  a  further  obligation  of 
kindness  —  an  obligation  to  train  them  for  higher 
enjoyment  —  an  enjoyment  of  companionship  with 
human  beings.  To  thus  train  animals  will  prove  not 
only  a  kindness  to  them,  but  it  will  enhance  our  own 
pleasure,  also,  and  the  exercise  of  such  kindness 
reacts  upon  ourselves.  It  has  an  excellent  moral 
effect.  Therefore  such  kindly  treatment  really  be- 
comes a  duty. 

In  dealing  with  the  virtue  and  vice  growing  out  of 
our  relations  to  animals  the  teacher  will  find  that 
fables  and  allegories  especially  lend  themselves  to 
this  purpose.  They  often  deal  with  animal  life,  and 
in  their  personification  of  animals  the  moral  lesson 
may  be  impressively  brought  before  the  pupil.  It  is 
rather  surprising  that  modern  writers  of  fables  and 
allegories  have  not  made  more  use  of  this  method  to 
teach  morality  as  it  bears  on  this  subject.  Here, 
again,  is  a  field  for  cultivation  by  some  clever  writer. 
There  are,  however,  a  sufficient  number  of  fables 
available  so  that  the  teacher  will  not  be  handicapped 
in  the  use  of  the  indirect  method  here.  General  story 
literature  also  will  furnish  material  that  relates  to  this 
virtue  and  its  opposite  vice,  so  that  the  teacher  need 
not  be  embarrassed  because  of  a  lack  of  material. 


138        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

In  dealing  with  the  virtue  and  vice  growing  out  of 
our  relations  to  animals  the  following  graded  scheme 
is  recommended : 

Virtue  Grade 

1.  Kindness  to  animals  I  II  III  IV  V 

Vice  Grade 

2.  Cruelty  to  animals  I  II  III  IV  V 

In  considering  the  child's  relation  to  animals  the 
following  list  of  stories  may  be  used : 

"The  Children  and  the  Dog,"  "The  Queen  Bee," 
and  "The  Slave  and  the  Lion,"  from  The  Golden  Ladder 
Book. 

"Poor  Old  Horse,"  "The  Banyan  Deer,"  and  "Who 
Stole  the  Bird's  Nest?"  from  The  Golden  Path  Book. 

"Sir  Isaac  Newton"  and  "Walter  von  der  Vogelweid," 
from  The  Golden  Door  Book. 

"Stanley  and  the  Squirrels,"  from  Half  a  Hundred 
Stories,  ^sop's  "The  Man  and  the  Foxes."  "Little 
Gustava"  by  Celia  Thaxter. 

"The  Water-Babies,"  Chapters  III  and  V.  "The  WUd 
Doves  of  St.  Francis,"  by  William  E.  A.  Axon.  "Dying 
in  Harness,"  by  John  Boyle  O'Reilly. 

"Rajeb's  Reward"  and  "The  Lost  Spear,"  from 
M§,gic  Casements,  by  Kate  Douglas  Wiggin  and  Nora 
Archibald  Smith.  "The  Emperor's  Bird's  Nest,"  by  H.  W. 
Longfellow.     "The  Wounded  Curlew,"  by  Cclia Thaxter. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE  ECONOMIC  LIFE 

Ethical  writers  emphasize  the  vital  significance 
of  the  vocational  life  in  the  moral  development  of 
the  individual  and  of  society.  A  vocation  tends  to 
unify  a  man's  life,  and  this  unity  is  itself  a  moral 
gain.  It  also  identifies  him  with  the  community 
in  a  manner  that  makes  both  for  his  own  as  well  as 
for  the  community's  welfare.  Through  it,  in  a  sys- 
tematic way,  he  makes  his  contribution  to  the  world's 
work.  He  is  not  only  saved  from  many  of  the  sins 
of  idleness,  but  he  also  develops  many  of  the  per- 
sonal, social,  and  industrial  virtues.  He  thus  adds 
to  his  own  enjoyment  and  enrichment  of  character 
as  well  as  to  the  enjoyment  and  enrichment  of  the 
life  of  society.  The  more  the  teacher  realizes  this, 
the  more  she  will  exert  herself  to  impress  upon  her 
pupils  in  the  upper  grades  the  importance  of  the 
vocational  fife,  and  to  establish  them  in  its  virtues 
and  guard  them  against  its  vices. 

By  the  economic  hfe  we  mean  whatever  concerns 
the  earning  of  one's  living.  Many  children  of  the 
seventh  and  eighth  grades  are  already  regarding  this 
matter  as  of  immediate  interest.     Even  if  they  have 

139 


I40        MORAL   TRAINING   IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

the  desire  to  pursue  their  studies  further,  their 
circumstances  are  such  as  to  make  an  extended  course 
out  of  the  question.  They  must  go  to  work  next 
year  or  the  year  after. 

The  fact  is  an  unfortunate  one  from  the  point  of 
view  of  education  in  general,  but  it  offers  a  certain 
educational  opportunity.  It  brings  into  the  last 
two  years  of  school  some  of  the  elements  which  enter 
into  the  preparation  for  a  profession.  It  is  well- 
known  that  young  men  who  have  been  indifferent 
students  in  their  college  years  become  interested  and 
industrious  when  they  come  to  study  the  subjects 
which  are  evidently  necessary  for  their  success  in  life. 
They  do  not  need  to  be  compelled  to  work  hard. 
If  in  a  like  manner  the  boys  and  girls  who  are  presently 
to  go  out  of  the  school  into  the  shop  or  the  mill  per- 
ceive that  what  they  are  being  taught  in  school  bears 
directly  upon  what  they  are  to  do  for  a  hving,  and 
may  determine  whether  they  shall  succeed  or  not,  the 
problem  of  getting  their  interest  is  solved. 

This  is  easy  when  the  work  of  the  school  is  a  direct 
training  for  the  practical  life,  as  is  the  case  in  manual 
instruction,  and  in  such  subjects  as  bookkeeping, 
penmanship,  and  arithmetic.  But  the  wise  teacher 
will  show  that  the  most  important  part  of  the  prep- 
aration is  that  which  affects  character.  The  initial 
demand  in  the  world  of  business  is  that  which  is 
supplied   not   by  mere  dexterity   or   knowledge   of 


THE   ECONOMIC   LIFE  141 

methods,  but  by  those  personal  qualities  which  make 
the  work  of  hands  and  brains  effective. 

One  of  these  qualities  is  industry.  This  is  the  virtue 
which  is  contradicted  by  the  vice  of  indolence.  It 
is  the  soHd  foundation  of  all  achievement.  Young 
people  are  sometimes  misled  by  the  dramatic  examples 
of  adventurers  and  men  of  genius  who  seem  to  have 
accomplished  great  things  easily,  by  good  luck, 
without  trying.  They  remember  that  Aladdin  was  a 
lazy  lad  in  whose  hands  was  placed  a  magic  lamp 
which  made  him  master  of  the  unseen  powers.  All 
that  he  had  to  do  was  to  rub  the  lamp ;  that  was  the 
most  serious  exertion  of  energy  required.  And  he 
became  rich,  and  married  the  sultan's  daughter. 
The  honest  truth,  however,  is  that  in  actual  life  the 
story  of  the  lazy  lad  is  parallel  with  the  story  of  Aladdin 
only  to  the  end  of  the  first  chapter.  Down  he  goes 
along  the  magic  stairs  in  search  of  gold  and  gems,  and 
the  cover  is  clapped  down  upon  him,  and  there  he  is  in 
the  dark  for  good  :  he  never  gets  out.  All  things  come 
to  the  industrious.  Nothing  comes  to  the  indolent 
but  shame  and  failure,  and  the  loss  of  all  the  things 
which  are  to  be  attained  by  industry.  Indolence 
is  the  counterfeit  coin  which  is  offered  in  purchase  of 
the  good  things  of  life,  and  is  refused  at  all  counters. 
The  hours  of  the  day  are  like  the  blank  leaves  of  a 
check  book,  being  worth  only  what  we  make  them 
worth.     All  young  people  desire  to  live  lives  of  self- 


142        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

respect  and  economic  independence.  They  look  for- 
ward to  the  owning  of  their  own  homes,  and  to  the 
successful  conduct  of  their  own  business.  One  of  the 
most  important  lessons  which  they  can  learn  in  school 
is  that  the  key  to  all  this  pleasant  hfe  is  industry. 

But  in  order  to  make  the  importance  of  industry 
plain,  young  people  must  have  an  ambition  to  be  and 
to  do  that  which  requires  industry  for  its  accomplish- 
ment. Often  the  indolent  pupil  lacks  aspiration.  He 
comes  out  of  an  environment  of  plodding  and  care- 
less life  in  which  there  are  low  standards  of  living. 
His  parents  and  his  neighbors  are  contented  with 
food  and  lodging  of  a  poor  kind,  and  are  satisfied 
to  live  from  hand  to  mouth.  The  school  must  appeal 
to  ambition.  It  must  set  forth  the  possibilities  which 
are  within  the  reach  of  industrious  youth.  It  must 
show  how  both  health  and  happiness  await  those  who 
really  desire  them,  while  those  who  lack  ambition 
get  only  so  much  as  they  actively  desire. 

It  is  indeed  true  that  industrial  conditions  are  diffi- 
cult. There  is  a  feeling  in  the  minds  of  manual  labor- 
ers that  they  are  imprisoned  in  the  midst  of  discourag- 
ing conditions  out  of  which  they  cannot  escape.  All 
their  industry,  they  think,  will  but  contribute  to 
the  gains  of  their  masters,  leaving  them  as  poor  as 
ever.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  many  examples 
of  men  of  conspicuous  success  who  began  their 
career  with  nothing.     They  are  prosperous  because 


THE    ECONOMIC    LITE  I43 

they  worked  hard  and  intelligently,  while  the  other 
boys  who  went  to  school  with  them  are  poor.  They 
laid  hold  of  every  opportunity.  One  might  have 
said  that  they  had  no  chance.  The  future,  it  seemed, 
belonged  to  the  sons  of  the  rich,  who  had  every  ad- 
vantage to  start  with.  But  it  did  not  work  out  that 
way.  They  were  determined  to  succeed.  Their 
constant  ambition  opened  a  way  for  them  over  all 
obstacles.  They  made  effective  weapons  out  of  the 
opportunities  which  others  threw  away. 

"  There  spread  a  cloud  of  dust  along  the  plain ; 
And  underneath  the  cloud,  or  in  it,  raged 
A  furious  battle,  and  men  yelled,  and  swords 
Shocked  upon  swords  and  shields.     A  prince's  banner 
Wavered,  then  staggered  backward,  hemmed  by  foes. 
A  craven  hung  along  the  battle's  edge. 
And  thought,  '  Had  I  a  sword  of  keener  steel  — 
That  blue  blade  that  the  king's  son  bears,  —  but  this 
Blunt  thing  —  ! '  he  snapt  and  flung  it  from  his  hand, 
And  lowering  crept  away  and  left  the  field. 
Then  came  the  king's  son,  wounded,  sore  bestead, 
And  weaponless,  and  saw  the  broken  sword, 
Hilt-buried  in  the  dry  and  trodden  sand, 
And  ran  and  snatched  it,  and  with  battle-shout 
Lifted  afresh  he  hewed  his  enemy  down. 
And  saved  a  great  cause  that  heroic  day." 

These  are  noble  lines  for  the  memory  of  youth, 
worth  being  printed  in  great  letters  and  hung  on 
schoolroom  walls,  for  the  incitement  of  high  ambition, 


144        MORAL   TRAINING   IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

and  for  the  assurance  that  success  is  won  not  by  favor, 
nor  by  excellence  of  tools  or  weapons,  so  much  as 
by  constant  determination,  and  the  resolve  to  do 
difficult  things  in  an  heroic  spirit. 

Along  with  industry  and  ambition  as  good  qualities 
of  the  economic  Hfe  goes  the  virtue  of  order.  There 
is  a  plodding  and  unintelHgent  industry  which  de- 
feats all  the  dreams  of  ambition  because  it  does  not 
use  the  time  aright.  Order  begins  with  promptness. 
The  orderly  worker  is  on  hand  punctually,  at  the 
moment.  This  is  plainly  one  of  the  virtues  for 
which  the  discipline  of  the  school  provides  continual 
exercise.  The  wise  teacher  shows  the  pupils  how 
promptness,  and  regularity,  and  system,  and  the 
details  of  order  are  necessary,  not  only  that  the  life 
of  the  school  may  proceed  well,  but  that  the  lives  of 
the  scholars  may  be  affected  by  it.  They  are  to  be 
reminded  that  this  virtue  is  as  essential  to  all  economic 
progress  as  a  knowledge  of  tools  is  essential  to  a 
mechanic.     Prosperity  is  impossible  without  it. 

Thus  the  failure  of  a  farm  is  proclaimed  by  the  im- 
plements which  lie  neglected  in  the  field.  That 
spectacle  of  improvidence  and  neglect  and  disorder 
is  not  only  an  evidence  that  the  farm  does  not  pay, 
but  an  explanation  of  its  poor  returns.  The  trouble 
with  the  farm  is  that  it  is  managed  by  a  farmer 
who  sees  no  harm  in  leaving  his  hoes  and  shovels, 
his  plows  and  rakes  under  the  wet  sky.     That  shows 


THE    ECONOMIC    LIFE  I45 

what  sort  of  man  he  is.  The  failure  is  first  in  the 
character  of  the  farmer ;  then,  as  a  consequence,  in 
the  farm. 

Order  is  required,  then,  in  the  schoolroom.  Desks 
must  be  kept  neat,  bells  must  be  obeyed  with  im- 
mediate response,  hours  must  be  observed  to  the 
minute,  quiet  must  be  maintained,  the  school  must 
proceed  with  the  carefulness  of  a  business  office,  in 
order  that  boys  and  girls  may  be  taught  this  very 
necessary  virtue  of  order.  Employers  are  looking  for 
young  people,  who,  together  with  industry  and  am- 
bition, have  a  sense  of  order.  To  such  the  rewards 
of  the  economic  life  are  given.  They  get  the  pro- 
motions. When  places  of  responsibility  are  open, 
and  young  men  are  to  be  advanced  to  masterships, 
account  is  taken  of  their  orderly  habits.  They 
who  would  be  intrusted  with  the  keeping  of  order, 
with  the  conduct  of  a  system,  must  first  be  systematic 
and  orderly  themselves. 

There  are  two  allied  virtues  which  take  these  quali- 
ties of  industry  and  ambition  and  order  out  of  the 
enthusiasm  of  new  resolutions,  and  make  them  a 
settled  part  of  the  working  day.  One  of  them  is 
patience,  the  other  is  perseverance.  These  make 
youth  willing  to  wait.  For  the  rewards  of  virtue 
are  often  slow  in  coming.  One  says  hastily  to  himself, 
"I  have  lived  according  to  the  principles  which  ought 
to  bring  advancement,  and  I  am  not  advanced.     My 


146        MORAL    TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

wages  are  no  more  than  they  were  two  years  ago. 
I  will  give  up  the  fruitless  effort."  In  such  cases  it  is 
sometimes  well  for  the  discouraged  worker  to  ask  him- 
self:  "Am  I  really  worth  more  than  I  was  two  years 
ago  ?  Am  I  contributing  more  to  the  success  of  the 
business  than  I  was  ?  "  For  the  unchanged  wage  may 
mean  that  the  worker  is  unchanged.  But  if  the  ques- 
tion may  be  answered  in  the  worker's  favor,  and  still 
his  virtues  seem  to  have  no  recognition  nor  reward, 
then  the  needed  qualities  are  those  of  patience  and  of 
perseverance.     All  the  virtues  are  tested  by  them. 

Men  must  have  virtues  which  can  stand  strains. 
They  must  be  enduring.  Sometimes  the  master  is 
watching  to  see  if  the  good  quaHties  of  the  man  are 
real;  they  may  be  only  the  products  of  a  passing 
enthusiasm.  The  man  may  work  well  under  pleasant 
conditions,  but  may  have  no  staying  qualities.  The 
successful  man  is  he  who  has  met  discouragement  a 
thousand  times.  Often  he  failed  when  he  hoped  to 
succeed,  and  had  no  recognition,  was  not  appreciated, 
seemed  to  make  no  progress.  Under  these  circum- 
stances most  of  his  companions  on  the  way  to  success 
became  discouraged  and  gave  up,  and  that  was  the 
end  of  them.     He  kept  on. 

But  patience  and  perseverance  imply  discourage- 
ment and  difficulty.  These  conditions  are  essential 
to  their  existence.  Patience  is  a  virtue  only  when 
we  have  good  reason  to  be  impatient,  and  persever- 


THE    ECONOMIC    LIFE  I47 

ance  means  nothing  unless  it  is  hard  for  us  to  per- 
severe. Thus  all  the  difi&culties  of  school  life  are 
as  much  a  part  of  the  economic  life  which  follows  as 
the  rigors  of  practice  are  a  part  of  the  game.  The 
purpose  of  practice  is  to  accustom  players  to  hard 
usage  in  order  that  they  may  take  it  cheerfully  and 
without  surprise  when  they  get  it  from  the  other  team. 
Soft  practice  makes  soft  players,  as  soft  studies  make 
soft  people,  unable  to  meet  the  difficulties  of  life. 
The  lesson  is  hard  because  life  is  hard,  and  the  school 
is  meant  to  train  youth  to  encounter  hardship. 

The  virtues  of  economy  and  prudence,  important 
as  they  are  in  the  work  of  the  world,  are  somewhat 
remote  from  the  work  of  the  school.  Life  stretches 
out  so  immeasurably  before  the  feet  of  youth  that  it  is 
hard  for  the  young  to  realize  that  they  must  take  care 
of  their  hours.  Why  be  careful,  when  there  are  so 
many  hours?  And  the  saving  of  money  is  remote 
from  most  pupils,  since  few  of  them  are  earning  it. 
The  value  of  money  is  hardly  more  than  an  academic 
proposition  until  one  discovers  by  experience  how  hard 
it  is  to  get  and  keep.  That  extravagance  is  a  vice 
must  be  taught  as  a  dogma,  the  lesson  being  confirmed 
later  by  reason  and  experience. 

The  teacher  may  show  that  time  and  money  are 
the  materials  of  our  continual  bargains.  We  are 
forever  spending  them,  and  getting  what  we  pay  for. 
The  instinct  to  make  a  good  bargain,  the  reluctance 


148       MORAL  TRAINING  IN  THE   SCHOOL  AND  HOME 

to  be  cheated,  is  universal,  and  makes  a  basis  of 
appeal.  Evidently,  the  permanent  is  better  than 
the  temporary,  gold  is  better  than  brass ;  to  buy 
something  to  keep  is  better  than  to  buy  something 
to  throw  away.  And  if  we  buy  this,  we  cannot  buy 
that.  Thus  wastefulness  may  be  impressed  upon 
the  mind  as  a  form  of  folly.  The  youth  who  throws 
away  time  which  might  be  used  for  his  advancement  in 
life  might  as  well  pitch  his  dimes  over  the  bridge. 
Wasted  money,  for  foolish  purchases,  is  a  reason  for 
derision,  like  the  folly  of  one  who  because  of  ignorance 
or  of  carelessness  is  continually  cheated.  Improvi- 
dence is  a  thing  to  be  ashamed  of  as  a  mark  of  lack 
of  knowledge  of  life.  In  the  curious  color  scheme  of 
popular  morals  the  youth  who  is  undertaking,  as  the 
phrase  is,  to  paint  the  world  red  is  succeeding  only 
in  painting  himself  green. 

The  list  of  the  more  outstanding  economic  virtues 
closes  with  the  personal  qualities  of  honesty  and 
courage.  They  are  closely  allied.  For  honesty,  in 
any  large  definition  of  the  word,  means  not  only 
the  keeping  of  one's  hands  from  picking  and  steal- 
ing, but  a  certain  allegiance  to  one's  convictions. 
He  is  honest  who  is  true,  sincere,  and  genuine, 
and  who  does  what  he  believes  to  be  right, 
and  declines  to  do  what  he  believes  to  be  wrong. 
And  this  calls  for  courage.  It  implies  self-rehance. 
It  demands  a  measure  of  initiative  and  independ- 


THE    ECONOMIC    LIFE  I49 

ence.  He  who  has  honesty  and  courage  possesses 
the  qualities  of  leadership.  At  the  least,  he  will 
not  be  found  ignobly  following  a  crowd  to  do  evil. 
He  can  be  depended  upon.  He  orders  his  conduct, 
not  by  the  prohibitions  of  the  law,  but  by  the  guid- 
ance of  his  own  conscience,  and  will  do  well  whether 
he  is  commanded  or  not,  and  whether  he  is  observed 
or  not. 

These  five  personal  qualities  should  be  developed 
in  the  school,  not  by  regulation,  nor  by  direct  instruc- 
tion, but  by  the  attraction  of  noble  examples.  A 
series  of  ethical  school  readers  that  holds  up  to  the 
admiration  and  emulation  of  youth  honest  and 
courageous  heroes  will  be  of  great  service  here.  The 
stories  of  their  lives  help  to  make  a  public  opinion 
which  praises  moral  bravery.  It  assists  a  condition 
out  of  which  boys  and  girls  go  into  the  world  with 
certain  fine  ideals,  rejoicing  in  the  strength  of  the  body, 
but  rejoicing  even  more  in  that  strength  of  the  will 
and  of  the  soul  which  keeps  men  true  to  the  distinc- 
tion between  right  and  wrong,  and  makes  them  in- 
stinctive champions  of  right. 

The  following  graded  scheme  (pp.  150-15 1)  will  be 
found  helpful  as  a  basis  for  training  children  in  the 
virtues  of  the  economic  life. 


15° 


MORAL   TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 


M>-ll— I  *-*  H-l  I— I  h- lh-ll-4 

l-l»— II— I  I— I  I— I  I— I  1-4)— I)— I 

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THE  ECONOMIC   LIFE  15I 


I— It— II— I  1—1  H-l  t-t  l-^l— It-* 

l-HH- II— I  I— I  h-l  h- 1  I— II— IhH 

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152       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

The  following  list  of  stories  may  be  used  in  con- 
nection with  the  virtues  of  the  vocational  life  :  — 

"The  Goblin  and  the  Huckster,"  "A  Song,"  "Adver- 
sity," "Of  Sir  Beaumains  and  his  Quest,"  "The  Story  of  Ali 
Cogia,"  "The  Light  of  Stars,"  "Lochinvar,"  "Palissy 
the  Potter,"  "Three  Questions,"  "The  Boyhood  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,"  and  "How  Marbot  Crossed  the  Danube," 
from  The  Golden  Word  Book. 

"Polonius  to  Laertes,"  "A  Brave  Rescue  and  a  Rough 
Ride,"  "A  Master  of  Fate,"  "Thomas  Alva  Edison," 
"Quiet  Work,"  "Habit,"  "The  Chambered  NautUus," 
"Days,"  "Order  in  the  House,"  "Ulysses,"  "A  Glance 
Backward,"  "Salutation  of  the  Dawn,"  " Joyfulness," 
"  Sonnet  on  his  Blindness,"  "The  Singers,"  " Ode  to  Duty," 
"The  Mystery  of  Life,"  "The  Choir  Invisible,"  "The  War 
Horse  and  the  Seven  Kings,"  "George  Washington," 
and  "The  Carronade, "  from  The  Golden  Deed  Book. 

"An  Oriole's  Nest"  and  "The  Builders,"  from  Ways 
of  Wood  Folk,  by  WiUiam  J.  Long.  "Robert  Owen," 
" Chauncey  Jerome,"  "Michael  Reynolds,"  " Peter  Faneuil 
and  the  Great  Hall  he  Built,"  and  "George  Flower," 
from  Captains  of  Industry,  by  James  Parton.  "Mary 
Lyon,"  from  An  American  Book  of  Golden  Deeds.  "The 
One-eyed  Servant, "  from  Stories  Told  to  a  Child.  "  Life  " 
and ' '  Opportunity, ' '  by  Edward  Roland  Sill.  ' '  The  Rescue 
Party,"  from  A  Book  of  Golden  Deeds.  Story  of  George 
Stephenson.  Story  of  Sir  Humphrey  Davy.  "Sir  Hum- 
phrey Gilbert,"  from  Short  Studies  on  Great  Subjects,  by 
J.  A.  Froude.  "The  Story  of  Whang,"  from  The  Citizen 
of  the  World,  by  Oliver  Goldsmith.  "History  of  Cogia 
Hassam  Alhabbal,"  in  Stories  from  the  Arabian  Nights, 
published  by  Houghton,  Mifflin  and  Company. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE   POLITICAL   LIFE 

Long  ago  Aristotle  defined  man  as  a  political  animal. 
By  this,  the  great  Greek  philosopher  meant  that  man 
is  by  nature  a  political  being  —  that  he  has  natural 
or  constitutional  capacities  that  fit  him  not  only  for 
society,  but  for  society  as  organized  under  govern- 
ment. This  is  undoubtedly  true,  for  both  the  history 
of  the  race,  as  well  as  a  psychological  analysis  of 
man,  bear  testimony  to  the  fact.  Almost  as  far  back 
as  we  can  trace  human  history  we  find  man  existing  not 
only  in  groups  but  under  some  form  of  political 
organization  which,  in  its  higher  forms,  we  call  the 
State  or   Commonwealth. 

The  state  is  an  ethical  institution.  It  exists  for  the 
welfare  of  the  people.  This  is  its  supreme  end. 
However  inferior  may  be  the  conception  of  "welfare" 
which  the  people  may  form,  still  it  is  an  ideal  that  they 
impose  upon  themselves,  and  the  realization  of  which, 
in  a  measure  at  least,  they  apprehend  as  a  moral 
obligation.  By  its  aims,  its  laws,  —  prohibitory  and 
mandatory,  —  its  aspirations  and  its  inspirations,  the 
state  proves  to  be  a  tremendous  moralizing  force,  and 

IS3 


154       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL  AND  HOME 

anything  that  can  be  done  to  promote  its  highest 
interests  should  be  done. 

The  pubHc  schools  are  in  a  large  measure  training 
schools  for  citizenship.  Supported  as  they  are  by 
the  people,  this  should  be  their  primary  aim,  and 
they  ought  to  be  training  schools  for  good  citizenship. 
Here  that  knowledge  and  sentiment  which  makes 
for  such  ends  should  be  fostered.  It  is  here  that  the 
individual  should  be  instructed  and  established  in 
those  virtues  which  make  for  the  public  weal  —  in 
that  "righteousness  which  exalteth  a  nation."  A 
school  that  fails  to  realize  its  duty  in  this  respect 
fails  in  one  of  its  most  fundamental  moral  obligations. 
What,  then,  are  these  virtues,  and  how  can  we  effec- 
tively introduce  the  pupil  to  them  ? 

The  foundation  virtue  of  the  poHtical  life  is  one  which 
has  a  hke  place  both  in  the  school  and  in  the  home. 
All  discipline,  whether  domestic,  academic,  or  pohtical, 
begins  with  it.  The  lack  of  it  imperils  or  destroys 
all  organization.     This  is  the  virtue  of  obedience. 

The  first  ground  of  obedience  is  authority.  In 
early  childhood,  and  in  such  classes  of  society  as  have 
hardly  developed  beyond  the  unreasoning  stage, 
this  is  the  only  basis  of  obedience.  The  mind  and 
the  will  must  be  directed  by  a  superior  wisdom  and 
strength.  The  command  must  be  heeded  because 
it  is  a  command,  whether  it  is  agreeable  or  not, 
and    whether    it    is    understood    or    not.     Prompt 


THE    POLITICAL    LIFE  1 55 

and  unquestioning  obedience  is  necessary  at  this 
period  for  its  own  sake,  in  order  to  develop  habit,  as 
various  exercises  are  necessary  as  an  initiation  into 
art,  or  music,  or  letters,  in  order  to  develop  dexterity. 
The  encouragement  of  this  virtue  is  in  the  approval 
of  those  in  authority  when  it  appears,  and  their 
disapproval  when  it  is  lacking.  It  is  assisted  by 
examples,  such  as  appear  in  a  series  of  ethical 
readers,  of  boys  and  girls  who  obeyed  splendidly 
under  difficult  conditions.  All  the  singing,  marching, 
and  drilling  of  the  schoolroom,  and  whatever  else 
goes  to  the  sound  of  a  bell,  are  in  the  direction  of 
obedience. 

As  years  increase,  and  it  becomes  possible  to  make 
more  appeal  to  reason  or  imagination,  the  almost 
instinctive  interest  which  children  have  in  soldiers 
and  sailors  may  be  made  to  contribute  to  this  virtue. 
These  men  obey  instantly,  and  all  their  strength 
proceeds  from  that  fact.  Thus  the  teacher  passes 
from  authority  as  a  ground  of  obedience  to  lay  a 
second  foundation  in  the  fact  of  efficiency.  It  is 
plain  that  a  good  regiment  obeys,  and  it  may  be  made 
plain  that  a  school,  in  order  to  be  a  good  school,  must 
obey.  All  the  energies  of  the  captain  must  be  set 
free  for  use  in  leading  the  regiment  into  action.  He 
must  not  be  delayed  and  distracted  by  having  to  urge 
laggards  into  line.  And  all  the  energies  of  the  teacher 
must  be  set  free  for  teaching.     On  goes  this  regiment 


156        MORAL   TRAINING    IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

into  the  battle  of  life ;  every  inattentive  or  disobedient 
soldier  weakens  it.  The  universal  interest  of  children 
in  athletic  games  affords  another  opportunity  for  con- 
necting obedience  with  efficiency.  For  the  phrase 
"team  play"  is  equivalent  to  obedience  in  action. 
Instant  response  must  be  made  to  the  word  of  the 
leader. 

As  children  grow  still  older  they  may  be  made 
to  understand  that  school  laws  are  the  expression  of 
careful  wisdom.  This  understanding  is  impeded 
in  some  cases  by  a  conviction  based  on  experience 
that  home  laws  often  represent  impulse  or  impatience 
or  a  failure  to  appreciate  the  conditions  of  child  Hfe. 
But  even  here  the  reasonableness  of  the  academic 
regulation  may  be  made  clear.  Much  may  be  done 
by  explanation  of  the  reasons  for  the  regulations 
made  sometimes  to  the  whole  school,  and  sometimes 
to  a  chosen  group  of  natural  leaders.  The  wise  teacher 
will  invite  discussion,  and  be  ready  to  listen  atten- 
tively to  all  counter-arguments.  In  this  way  the 
energies  of  the  scholars  themselves  may  be  enhsted 
on  the  side  of  the  constituted  authorities. 

The  importance  of  the  whole  matter  is  evidenced 
by  the  continual  complaints  of  the  ineffectiveness 
of  the  public  school  in  teaching  respect  for  law. 
Often  a  part  of  the  failure  arises  from  the  presenta- 
tion of  school  law  on  the  basis  of  authority  alone  to 
boys  and  girls  who  ought  to  be  appealed  to  on  the 


THE    POLITICAL   LIFE  I57 

basis  of  efficiency  and  reason.  The  law  is  a  coercive 
fact  by  which  youth  is  kept  in  bondage.  The  children 
are  conscious  only  of  the  restraint  of  it.  They  con- 
sequently hate  it,  and  on  every  convenient  occasion 
react  from  it.  They  are  at  war  with  the  teacher  in 
the  school,  and  they  continue  to  be  at  war  with  the 
policeman  when  they  get  out  of  school.  Much  may 
be  learned  from  the  methods  of  such  organizations 
as  the  George  Junior  Republic,  and  from  the  conduct 
of  successful  boys'  camps. 

The  essence  of  sound  political  life  is  in  regard  for 
law  as  a  common  possession.  It  is  our  law,  made  for 
us  by  men  whom  we  have  chosen  for  that  purpose, 
and  enforced  by  men  in  uniform  whose  salaries  are 
paid  by  us  in  the  form  of  taxes.  It  is  a  regulation 
agreed  upon  by  us  all  as  the  best  method  for  securing 
ordjer  and  efficiency  in  the  Hving  of  our  life.  It  may, 
indeed,  be  questioned  how  far  it  is  possible  to  introduce 
into  secondary  schools,  and  especially  into  elementary 
schools,  the  self-government  which  works  so  admira- 
bly in  some  colleges.  But  some  measure  of  it  may 
probably  be  used  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  has 
as  yet  been  attempted.  The  simplest  form  is  a  choice 
by  the  teachers,  or  still  better  by  the  pupils,  of  certain 
representatives,  with  whom  the  makers  and  adminis- 
trators of  school  law  may  profitably  confer.  The 
result  ought  to  be  a  company  of  youth  who  shall  go 
out  of  the  school  accustomed  to  regard  law  as  a  rule 


158        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

to  be  not  only  obeyed  but  enforced.  The  pupils 
themselves  are  enlisted  on  the  side  of  law. 

Political  duty  is  changed  to  enthusiasm  by  the 
fostering  of  love  of  country.  Children  may  very 
early  be  taught  to  be  proud  of  the  land,  the  nation, 
the  city,  the  locality  in  which  they  live.  Thus  geog- 
raphy becomes  instruction  in  patriotism.  The 
children  learn  in  how  great  and  wonderful  and  beau- 
tiful a  place  they  have  their  residence.  They  become 
aware  of  the  large  fact  of  nationality,  and  are  made 
acquainted  with  the  resources,  the  growth,  the  possi- 
bihties  of  the  country.  They  are  taught  in  their 
study  of  history  what  has  been  done  for  them  by  the 
pioneers,  adventurers,  settlers,  statesmen,  and  heroes. 
They  perceive  that  they  are  entering  into  a  precious 
heritage.  They  are  prepared  to  take  their  places  in 
this  march  of  progress.  They  come  to  understand 
how  the  government,  national  and  local,  is  adminis- 
tered, and  what  is  actually  being  done  under  the 
leadership  of  legislators  in  the  national  and  state 
councils,  and  in  city  halls  and  town  meetings,  for  the 
general  good.  When  they  learn  this,  they  will  be 
wiser  than  many  of  their  parents. 

In  the  course  of  such  teaching  instruction  will  be 
given  in  the  history  and  nature  of  our  political  in- 
stitutions. Such  teaching  is  made  especially  neces- 
sary by  the  presence  in  our  public  schools  of  great 
numbers  of  children  whose  parents  were  born  under 


THE    POLITICAL   LIFE  1 59 

very  different  political  conditions.  The  children  de- 
rive from  their  parents  the  attitude  and  opinions  which 
these  conditions  cause.  Often  the  elders  have  left 
their  homes  because  of  political  corruption,  injustice, 
and  oppression,  and  though  they  may  have  sought 
these  shores  as  a  place  of  refuge  and  a  haven  of  hap- 
piness, they  cannot  quite  divest  themselves  of  their 
inherited  prejudices.  If  in  the  land  of  their  birth 
political  authority  meant  tyranny  and  oppression, 
and  the  courts  of  law  meant  only  extortion  from  the 
poor,  some  measure  of  that  feeling  will  continue,  even 
under  changed  conditions.  It  must  be  met  in  the 
school  by  teachers  who  understand  that  it  exists. 
The  teacher  is  dealing  directly,  indeed,  with  children, 
but  indirectly  with  full-grown  citizens  whose  preju- 
dices may  at  any  moment  give  rise  to  serious  violence. 
The  instruction  which  enlightens  children  to  the  na- 
ture and  meaning  of  our  free  institutions,  and  shows 
them  how  they  intend  the  best  welfare  of  all  citizens, 
is  one  of  the  most  important  pieces  of  work  which 
anybody  can  do  in  this  country.  Under  such  teach- 
ing the  American  flag  takes  on  a  new  significance. 

The  fact  that  our  institutions  depend  upon  our- 
selves brings  the  pubUc  school  into  vital  relations  with 
the  political  situation.  Indeed,  it  is  primarily  for  this 
purpose  that  the  school  exists  and  is  maintained  by 
taxes  levied  on  the  citizens.  These  taxes  are  collected 
from  all  taxpayers,  whether  they  have  children  or  not, 


l6o       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

because  the  output  of  the  schools  is  of  universal  in- 
terest. All  social  order  depends  upon  it.  Rightly  un- 
derstood, nothing  in  the  course  of  study  in  the  public 
school  is  so  important  as  that  which  has  hardly  any 
recognized  place  in  it,  the  systematic  teaching  of 
morals.  For  that  which  concerns  us  all,  and  makes 
the  maintenance  of  schools  worth  while,  is  not  merely 
the  imparting  of  a  knowledge  of  letters  or  figures, 
but  the  impressing  of  such  moral  ideas  as  shall  make 
good  citizens.  The  best  product  of  a  school  is  char- 
acter. 

Thus  the  love  of  justice,  the  love  of  honesty,  the  love 
of  liberty,  the  love  of  peace,  are  to  be  nourished  in 
the  lives  of  children.  A  series  of  ethical  readers  is 
one  attempt  to  assist  the  school  in  fulfilling  its  su- 
premely important  function,  but  this  needs  to  be  sup- 
plemented and  enforced  in  the  whole  management  of 
the  school.  A  most  important  factor  is  the  treatment 
of  the  daily  problems  in  such  a  manner  as  to  uphold 
the  value  of  these  virtues  and  to  illustrate  them  in  the 
conduct  of  the  school  affairs.  The  just  teacher,  who 
makes  decisions  not  in  haste,  nor  in  temper,  but  after 
consultation  and  consideration,  with  no  purpose  but 
to  be  fair,  is  teaching  morality  most  effectively.  And 
the  distinction  between  liberty  and  license;  the  whole- 
some advantages  of  peace,  and  the  essential  quality 
of  honest  dealing,  may  be  taught  from  texts  daily 
supplied  in  the  experiences  of  the  school.     The  hero- 


THE   POLITICAL    LIFE  i6t 

ism  of  peace,  in  the  lives  of  firemen  and  policemen, 
in  the  face  of  accident,  are  illustrated  in  the  daily 
papers.  Courage  is  to  be  praised  as  a  moral  rather 
than  a  physical  bravery,  the  test  of  which  is  afforded 
by  the  temptations  of  the  school  yard  and  of  the  street. 
As  for  respect  for  rulers,  it  begins  with  respect  for 
teachers,  a  respect  earned  by  fairness,  earnestness, 
competence,  and  sympathy. 

The  pupils  are  to  be  taught  that  the  highest  virtues 
are  social  and  aggressive.  To  live  one's  individual 
life  is  excellent  so  far  as  it  goes,  but  to  make  one's 
life  count  in  the  furtherance  of  all  that  is  good,  to  be 
not  only  right  but  a  champion  of  right,  to  be  not  only 
a  good  citizen  but  a  defender  and  maintainer  of  good 
citizenship,  this  is  the  goal  of  all  the  instruction  which 
bears  ultimately  on  the  political  life.  This  is  the 
meaning  of  the  virtues  of  political  interest  and  politi- 
cal honor.  All  the  emotions  of  love  of  country  are 
to  be  focused  upon  the  endeavor  to  contribute  to  the 
welfare  of  the  country,  and  to  fight  against  all  agencies 
and  influences  which  degrade  its  life.  The  immediate 
aim  may  be  the  development  of  loyalty  to  the  school, 
the  endeavor  to  enlist  all  children  in  the  making 
of  the  cleanest,  the  most  orderly,  the  most  attractive, 
the  most  efficient  school  in  the  community.  The 
natural  zeal  which  is  manifested  in  the  rivalries  of 
intercollegiate  sports,  and  in  the  games  between  rival 
teams   at    baseball,    may   be   ultilized   in    the    finer 


l62        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

competitions  for  the  attainment  of  higher  standards 
of  life.  Then  it  will  be  easy  for  the  boys  and  girls, 
grown  into  men  and  women,  to  conduct  themselves 
with  like  enthusiasm  in  the  great  work  of  making  the 
cleanest,  the  most  orderly,  the  most  attractive,  the 
most  efficient  city.  Out  of  such  a  spirit  we  may 
expect  the  emergence  of  better  politics. 

Here  instruction  should  be  graded  also,  dealing 
with  such  poHtical  virtues  and  vices  as  may  be  most 
profitably  dealt  with  in  the  respective  grades.  The 
following  graded  scheme  (p.  163)  is  commended  to 
the  teacher. 

The  following  stories  bring  out  the  virtues  of  the 
political  Hfe :  — 

"Prince  Hal  Goes  to  Prison,"  "My  Own  Land  For- 
ever," and  "Three  Hundred  Heroes,"  from  The  Golden 
Ladder  Book. 

"Arnold  Winkelried,"  "The  Traitor  Girl,"  and  "Sir 
Thomas  More,"  from  The  Golden  Path  Book. 

"Paul  Revere's  Ride,"  "Gathering  Song  of  Donald 
Dhu,"  "Joan  of  Arc,"  "The  Overland  Mail,"  "The 
Shahs  and  the  Demons,"  "How  Sleep  the  Brave,"  "The 
Flag  Goes  By,"  "The  Centennial  Celebration  of  Concord 
Fight,"  "The  Sword  of  Damocles,"  "My  Native  Land," 
and  "An  Old  Swiss  Story,"  from  The  Golden  Door  Book. 

"Griselda,"  "Hannibal,"  "The  King  and  the  Sea," 
"The  Blue  and  the  Gray,"  "The  King  of  the  Monkeys," 
"Song  of  Marion's  Men,"  "Zenobia  of  Palmyra,"  "Old 
Ironsides,"  "The  Pilgrim  Fathers,"  "Lexington,"  "The 
Keys   of    Calais,"    "Soldier,   Rest!"    "^geus    and    his 


THE   POLITICAL   LIFE  163 

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164       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL  AND   HOME 

Queen,"  "Sonnet  on  Chillon,"  "The  Gray  Champion," 
"The  Man  Who  Could  Not  Be  Bought,"  "The  Minstrel 
Boy,"  "Of  the  Queen's  Maying,  and  how  Sir  Lancelot 
Rode  in  a  Cart,"  "Of  Old  Sat  Freedom,"  "Gettysburg 
Address,"  "Abraham  Lincoln,"  "The  Death  of  Nelson," 
''The  Arsenal  at  Springfield,"  and  "Concord  Hymn," 
from  The  Golden  Key  Book. 

"The  Law  of  Authority  and  Obedience,"  "Horatius 
at  the  Bridge,"  "Liberty  or  Death,"  "The  Ballad  of  the 
Clampherdown,"  "Roland,"  "Hail  to  the  Chief,"  "The 
Morning  of  the  Battle  of  Agincourt,"  "The  Battle  of 
Agincourt,"  "Antony's  Speech  over  Caesar's  Body," 
"Marco  Bozzaris,"  "Fight  between  the  Bonhomme 
Richard  and  Serapis,''  "Ring  out  Wild  Bells,"  and  "The 
Story  of  a  Roman  General,"  from  The  Golden  Word  Book. 

"Voluntaries,"  "The  Man  without  a  Country,"  "The 
Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade,"  "The  Strenuous  Life," 
"Joan  of  Arc,"  "Oration  of  Mark  Antony,"  "Washing- 
ton's Farewell  Address,"  "The  Ship  of  State,"  "The 
Bivouac  of  the  Dead,"  "Scots  Wha  Hae,"  "The  Four 
Wreaths,"  "Say  What  Is  Honor,"  "The  Carronade," 
and  "On  Laying  the  Cornerstone  of  the  Bunker  Hill 
Monument,"  from  The  Golden  Deed  Book. 

"The  Star-spangled  Banner,"  by  Francis  Scott  Key. 
"National  Hymn,"  by  Samuel  F.  Smith.  Whittier's 
"Barbara  Frietchie."  "Of!  for  the  War"  and  "The  First 
Fourth  of  July,"  from  Boys  and  Girls  of  Seventy-seven, 
by  Mary  P.  Wells  Smith.  "He  Gave  His  Life  for  His 
Country"  and  "I  Did  not  Do  the  Job  for  Money,"  from 
Brave  Deeds,  Young  Folks  Library.  "Helena  of  Britain" 
and  "Edith  of  Scotland,"  from  Historic  Girls,  by  E,  S. 
Brooks. 


THE    POLITICAL    LIFE  165 

''Abraham  Davenport  "by  J.  G.  Whittier.  "ThePerfect 
Tribute, "by  Mary  Raymond  Shipman  Andrews.  "Warren's 
Address,"  by  John  Pierpont,  in  Poems  Every  Child  Should 
Know.  "What  Makes  a  Nation?"  by  W.  D.  Nesbit. 
"The  Princess  Wins,"  from  Deeds  of  Daring  Done  by  Girls, 
by  N.  Hudson  Moore.  "The  Passing  of  Arthur,"  from 
Tennyson's  Idylls  of  the  King.  "The  Rise  of  Robert 
the  Bruce"  and  "The  Exploits  of  Douglas  and  Randolph," 
from  Scott's  Tales  of  a  Grandfather.  "Nisus  and  Scylla," 
from  Bulfinch's  Age  of  Chivalry. 

"The  Cavaher,"  by  Walter  Scott.  "God  Save  the 
Flag,"  by  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes.  Tennyson's  "Charge 
of  the  Heavy  Brigade."  "Dear  Land  of  All  My  Love," 
by  Sidney  Lanier.  "The  Bixby  Letter,"  by  Abraham 
Lincoln,  "To  the  American  Troops  before  the  Battle 
of  Long  Island,"  by  George  Washington,  "The  Fourth 
of  July"  and  "On  Sudden  PoHtical  Conversions,"  by 
Daniel  Webster,  and  "The  Revolutionary  Alarm,"  by 
George  Bancroft,  in  Prose  Every  Child  Should  Know. 
"  Israel  Putnam,"  from  Boys'  Heroes,  by  Edward  Everett 
Hale.  "Henrietta  the  Siege  Baby,"  from  The  Book  of 
Princes  and  Princesses,  by  Mrs.  Lang.  "  Eulogy  on  James 
A.  Garfield,"  by  James  G.  Blaine.  "Our  Colors,"  from 
More  Five  Minute  Stories.  "Edward  Randolph's  Por- 
trait," by  Nathaniel  Hawthorne.  "Langton"  and 
"Becket,"  from  Saints  and  Heroes,  by  George  Hodges. 
"The  Reveille,"  by  Bret  Harte.  "Nathan  Hale,"  from 
The  Book  of  Patriotism,  Young  Folks  Library.  "A  Hero  of 
Valley  Forge,"  from  An  American  Book  of  Golden  Deeds. 
"Tubal  Cain,"  by  Charles  Mackay. 

"The  Hare,"  from  Collection  of  Eastern  Stories  and 
Legends.     "The  Commonwealth  of  Bees,"  from  Shake- 


1 66        MORAL   TRAINING    IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

speare's  Henry  V.  "A  Comparison  of  Two  Events," 
by  W.  M.  Thackeray,  and  "The  Siege  of  Leyden,"  by 
J.  L.  Motley,  in  Patriotism  in  Prose  and  Verse,  edited  by 
Jane  Gordon.  "The  Might  of  the  Cowheaded  Club," 
from  Stories  of  Persian  Heroes,  by  E.  M.  Wilmot-Buxton. 
"Life  without  Freedom,"  by  Thomas  Moore.  "The 
Declaration  of  Independence. ' '  ' '  The  Battle  of  Blenheim, ' ' 
by  Robert  Southey.  "  The  Troubadour's  Last  Song,"  from 
God's  Troubadour,  by  Sophie  Jewett.  "For  Wallace  or 
King  Edward,"  from  Historic  Scenes  in  Fiction,  Young 
Folks  Library.  "  Character  of  Washington, "  from  Leaders 
of  Men,  Young  Folks  Library, 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  ESTHETIC   LIFE 

The  child  by  nature  is  an  aesthetic  being.  Consti- 
tutionally, he  functions  aesthetically  just  as  really  as 
he  does  socially,  although  not  to  the  same  extent. 
Very  early  in  his  history  he  manifests  delight  in 
beauty.  The  nature  of  these  reactions  will  be  ex- 
plained as  we  proceed  with  the  chapter.  Because  of 
them,  education  calls  for  the  development  of  this 
aspect  of  the  child's  nature,  and  ethical  culture  de- 
mands its  moralization.  Morality  is  especially  con- 
cerned with  aesthetic  development,  since  there  is  an 
intimate  relation  existing  between  the  beautiful  and 
the  good.  So  intimately  related  are  they  that  thinkers 
like  Plato,  Shaftesbury,  and  Schiller  really  identify 
them.  Whether  this  be  justifiable  or  not,  it  is  un- 
doubtedly true  that  the  aesthetic  factor  is  an  exceed- 
ingly important  factor  in  our  moral  life,  and  it  should 
receive  proper  recognition  at  the  hands  of  our  school 
authorities  —  both  for  its  own  sake  and  for  the  sake 
of  morals. 

It  is  part  of  the  office  of  the  teacher  of  morals  to  try 
to  establish  the  child  in  the  virtues  of  the  aesthetic 

167 


1 68       MORAL  TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL  AND   HOME 

life.  In  doing  this,  however,  she  sometimes  en- 
counters difficulties  which  are  not  easily  overcome. 
Public  sentiment  is  often  hostile  to  efforts  on  the  part 
of  the  schools  to  give  the  aesthetic  nature  proper  recog- 
nition in  child  culture.  It  is  a  utilitarian  age,  when 
"bread  and  butter  studies"  are  demanded  —  studies 
that  bear  directly  on  the  child's  future  vocational  hfe. 
The  cry  of  "fads  and  fancies  "  is  raised  in  opposition 
to  aesthetic  development,  and  school  principals  and 
superintendents  often  find  it  discouraging  work 
to  attempt  to  introduce  a  little  more  idealism  into 
the  curriculum.  The  fine  arts  are  regarded  as  luxuries, 
and  training  in  appreciation  of  them  is  supposed  to 
be  unnecessary.  Music  and  poetry  receive  some  rec- 
ognition, but  the  remainder  of  the  arts  are,  to  a  large 
extent,  passed  by  with  indifference,  if  not,  indeed, 
with  contempt. 

Now,  of  course,  in  carrying  out  our  educational 
ideals,  we  must  reckon  with  the  conditions  under  which 
we  labor.  It  is  wise  for  us  to  remember,  in  trying  to 
realize  ideals,  that  we  are  not  in  an  ideal  environment. 
We  must  labor  with  constant  regard  for  the  real 
—  the  actual.  Public  sentiment  must  be  considered. 
But  it  is  possible  often,  by  tactful  procedure,  to 
change  public  sentiment,  —  especially  when  it  is  in  the 
wrong,  —  and  the  teachers  and  superintendents  should 
use  their  influence  to  this  end.  Such  sentiment  is 
often  based  upon  a  failure  to  appreciate  how  large 


THE    ESTHETIC    LIFE  1 69 

and  valuable  a  part  the  aesthetic  nature  plays  in  our 
complex  life,  and  it  would  be  well  for  our  educators, 
who  are  interested  in  the  promotion  of  aesthetic 
culture  in  our  schools,  to  enlighten  the  pubhc  on  this 
point.  If  it  be  not  specially  susceptible  to  an  appeal 
in  behalf  of  the  aesthetic  nature  on  the  higher  grounds 
of  its  relations  to  the  social,  moral,  and  religious 
life,  it  might  be  influenced  by  pointing  out  the  im- 
portance of  the  aesthetic  in  its  relation  to  the  economic 
life,  for  undoubtedly,  estimated  from  a  purely  utili- 
tarian point  of  view,  the  aesthetic  nature  demands 
consideration.  In  a  section  of  a  chapter  of  his 
"Practical  Sociology,"  relating  to  "Art  and  Social 
Well-being,"  such  a  practical  thinker  as  Carroll  D. 
Wright  says :  — 

"People  engaged  in  artistic  manufactures  are  em- 
ployed in  occupations  of  a  higher  grade ;  their  wages  are 
increased ;  their  standard  of  living  is  raised  proportionately, 
and  their  social  well-being  is  enhanced. 

"If  industry  to-day  had  nothing  more  to  do  than  the 
furnishing  of  the  simple  necessaries  of  human  life,  it 
would  have  little  field  for  expansion,  and  would  offer 
meager  opportimities  for  employment.  Life  would  be  a 
burden,  so  dull  and  monotonous  would  it  be.  Trade, 
as  we  understand  it,  would  cease,  and  commerce  become 
a  thing  practically  unknown.  But  industry  flourishes 
because  it  is  not  limited  to  the  production  of  things  that 
are  needed  for  food,  raiment,  and  shelter.  It  is  because 
art  has  come  in  to  increase  the  wants  of  the  race  that 


170       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

trade  and  commerce  flourish.  Art  carries  industry  be- 
yond our  actual  wants,  and  calls  upon  it  to  supply  those 
things  which  make  for  social  progress.  The  future  expan- 
sion of  industry  and  of  commerce,  the  future  elevation  in 
the  character  of  the  employment  of  all  classes,  the  increase 
of  their  earning  capacity,  the  opportunity  of  increasing  the 
standard  of  their  environment,  —  all  these  depend  upon 
the  cultivation   of   the  industrial   arts."  ^ 

And,  in  the  section  following,  which  relates  to 
"  Art  as  a  Source  of  Wealth,"  the  same  writer 
says : — 

"Looking  beyond  this,  industrial  art  is  a  source  of 
wealth.  Fine  art  itself  is  a  wealth  producer.  The  payment 
of  ten  or  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  a  painting  enriches 
the  community  in  which  the  artist  lives.  There  has  been 
something  added  in  the  way  of  treasure  to  a  country's 
assets  by  the  productions  of  its  artistic  genius.  The 
very  presence  of  great  pictures  is  a  local  benefit.  Take 
the  Sistine  Madonna  from  Dresden,  rob  Paris  of  the 
Louvre,  despoil  London  of  its  National  Gallery  or  Antwerp 
of  its  Rubens  collection,  take  the  Art  Museum  out  of 
Boston,  destroy  the  galleries  which  are  growing  up  so 
richly  in  our  western  cities,  and  we  have  depreciated  the 
commercial  value  of  all  these  places  far  beyond  the  selling 
price  of  the  pictures. 

"Industrial  art  and  a  thorough  appreciation  of  the 
fine  arts  enable  the  community  that  cultivates  them  to 
compete  successfully  with  the  community  that  neglects 
them.     All  these  things  —  the  expansion  of  industry,  the 

I  "  Outline  of  Practical  Sociology,"  New  York,  1902,  pp.  338-339. 


I 


THE   ESTHETIC    LIFE  171 

commercial  importance  of  art,  the  knowledge  of  its  real 
value  —  certainly  contribute,  and  largely,  too,  to  the  well- 
being  of  the  individual.  The  rich,  by  their  generous 
contributions  in  establishing  art  galleries,  are  doing 
something  more  than  building  monuments  to  themselves ; 
they  are  offering  to  the  poor  man  the  means  of  improving 
the  leisure  earned  by  his  hard  labor,  and  giving  him  an 
opportunity  to  find  cultured  occupation."  ^ 

Before  dealing  with  the  method  of  developing 
the  aesthetic  nature  in  the  classroom,  it  might  be 
well  to  call  the  attention  of  our  school  authorities  to 
some  obvious  facts  with  reference  to  the  potent  in- 
fluence of  the  child's  school  environment  as  bearing 
on  his  aesthetic  culture.  There  can  be  no  reasonable 
doubt  concerning  the  refining  and  moralizing  effect 
of  beauty  on  the  children  of  the  upper  grades,  as 
manifest  in  school  architecture  and  school  landscape 
gardening.  At  least  as  early  as  the  tenth  year  they 
are  susceptible  to  such  influences.  In  many  instances, 
however,  school  buildings  and  school  grounds  are 
conspicuous  examples  of  the  ugly,  and  the  effect 
of  ugliness  is  demoralizing.  Conditions  are  improving 
in  this  respect,  but  they  are  far  from  what  they  should 
be.  All  school  buildings  should  be  models  of  archi- 
tecture. They  should  be  designed  not  by  "political 
architects,"  but  by  architects  of  genuine  ability. 
Expense  cannot  be  put  forward  here  as  a  legitimate 

1  "Outline  of  Practical  Sociology,"  New  York,  1902,  p.  339. 


172        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

excuse  for  failure  in  this  respect.  It  really  costs  no 
more  to  design  a  beautiful  school  building  than  to 
design  an  ugly  one.  Simphcity  is  a  fundamental 
mark  of  beauty,  and  simplicity  makes  for  economy. 
The  school  building  should  be  one  of  the  notable 
buildings  in  every  community,  and  it  ought  to  be 
a  beautiful  structure. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  school  grounds.  As  a 
rule,  the  grounds  about  our  jails,  penitentiaries,  and 
insane  asylums  are  far  more  beautiful  and  attractive 
than  our  school  grounds,  as  if  criminals  and  lunatics 
deserved  more  consideration  at  our  hands  than 
school  children  and  school  teachers,  who  so  often 
are  compelled  to  live  a  good  share  of  their  time  sur- 
rounded by  plain  dirt  or  ash  courts,  with  compara- 
tively Uttle  shrubbery  to  relieve  the  trying  monotony 
of  ugliness.  The  lima  tic  can  hardly  appreciate  the 
beauty  of  his  surroundings,  and  the  criminal,  even 
if  he  could,  has  very  little  opportunity  to  do  so,  and 
the  dear  public  doesn't  feel  inclined  to  go  to  either 
place  to  drink  in  the  "charm"  of  the  surroundings, 
or  even  to  loiter  long  about  the  groimds  for  aesthetic 
edification  !  If  an  expenditure  for  such  surroundings 
in  our  pubHc  institutions  is  to  be  made,  why  not  make 
it  in  the  interests  of  the  rational  and  law  abiding? 
It  makes  for  a  higher  culture  and  for  a  better  citizen- 
ship. 

The  interior  of  the  school  building  ought  to  receive 


THE   ESTHETIC   LIFE  1 73 

proper  aesthetic  consideration  also.  The  interior 
decorations,  be  they  ever  so  simple,  should  be  in  good 
taste.  Much  of  this  lies  in  the  teacher's  power,  and 
should  not  escape  her  serious  effort.  Pictures  and 
flowers  can  be  utilized  to  advantage.  If  the  teacher 
does  not  feel  herself  a  competent  judge  of  pictures, 
it  is  often  possible  for  her  to  avail  herself  of  the  judg- 
ment of  persons  in  the  community  who  are  capable  of 
performing  this  office.  By  all  means  let  the  school 
room  minister  to  the  aesthetic  nature  of  the  child. 
It  costs  little,  and  it  is  worth  much. 

If  we  pass  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  subject 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  curriculum,  it  would  be 
well,  in  the  moral  education  of  children,  to  encourage, 
as  much  as  is  consistent  with  the  child's  other  interests, 
the  development  of  his  aesthetic  nature,  by  means  of 
instruction  in  at  least  some  of  the  fine  arts.  Music, 
poetry,  the  dance,  color  work,  and  drawing  may  be 
introduced  into  the  curriculum  in  the  early  grades. 
Investigations  along  this  line  have  been  made,  and 
they  indicate  that  the  child  is  prepared  at  this  time  of 
life  to  undertake  such  work.  With  reference  to  music 
and  poetry,  it  may  be  said  that  the  feehng  for  rhythm 
is  instinctive,  and  this  furnishes  a  natural  basis  for 
our  educational  effort  to  develop  in  children  a  knowl- 
edge and  love  of  these  arts. 

Teachers,  however,  find  more  or  less  difficulty  in 
trying  to  interest  pupils  in  poetry.     Most  children 


174       MORAL  TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL  AND   HOME 

love  to  sing,  but  children,  even  of  the  third,  fourth, 
and  fifth  grades,  often  express  a  dislike  for  poetry. 
May  this  not  be  due  in  a  large  measure  to  the  fact 
that  we  overlook  the  necessity  of  simple  rhythm 
in  the  verse  to  which  we  introduce  them,  in  order 
to  acquaint  them  with  the  content  of  the  poem? 
More  simple  lyrical  poetry  in  our  schoolbooks  might 
produce  different  results.  Poetry  of  action  interests 
the  child  more  than  mere  descriptive  poetry,  and  if 
the  action  of  the  poem  be  presented  objectively,  it 
often  interests  the  child  intensely. 

The  dance,  also,  is  regarded  by  writers  on  aesthetics 
as  a  fine  art.  It,  too,  has  its  roots  in  the  feeling  for 
rhythm  that  is  native  to  the  child.  This  instinctive 
feeling  manifests  itself  in  this  form  very  early,  so 
that  children  are  often  taught  to  dance  when  four 
years  old.  Dancing  makes  for  beauty  and  grace  of 
body,  and  for  beauty  and  grace  of  manner.  These 
things  have  social  and  moral  value  as  well.  That  is 
an  interesting  as  well  as  true  observation  of  the  sage 
Locke  on  the  value  of  dancing  to  the  child  from  this 
point  of  view :  — 

"...  And  since  nothing  appears  to  me  to  give 
Children  so  much  becoming  Confidence  and  Behaviour,  and 
so  to  raise  them  to  the  Conversation  of  those  above  their 
Age,  as  Dancing,  I  think  they  should  be  taught  to  dance 
as  soon  as  they  are  capable  of  learning  it.  For  tho'  this 
consist  only  in  outward  Gracefulness  of  Motion,  yet,  I 


THE    ESTHETIC    LIFE  1 75 

know  not  how,  it  gives  Children   manly  Thoughts  and 
Carriage,  more  than  any  thing."  ^ 

Much  of  the  religious  prejudice  against  dancing 
which  prevailed  in  former  times  has  passed  away. 
And  the  objections  which  are  sometimes  urged  against 
it  from  the  standpoint  of  sex  considerations,  if  valid 
at  all,  do  not  apply  to  children — except  possibly  to 
those  of  the  three  upper  grades  of  our  elementary 
schools.  So,  because  of  its  hygienic,  social,  aesthetic, 
as  well  as  its  moral  value,  the  teacher  of  morals  should 
encourage  dancing.  It  contributes  to  the  well-being 
of  the  individual  from  many  points  of  view,  and  thus 
it  becomes  necessary  for  us  to  look  at  it  from  the 
standpoint  of  moral  obligation  when  dealing  with  the 
education  of  the  child. 

Another  gesthetic  discipline  or  study  that  should 
be  introduced  into  the  curriculum  is  color  work. 
Here  again  investigations  in  child  psychology  reveal 
the  fact  that  the  child  of  the  early  school  grades  is 
prepared  in  capacity  to  undertake  such  work.  Before 
the  kindergarten  period  the  child  has  learned  to 
appreciate  color  contrasts  and  color  values,  so  that 
when  he  arrives  at  the  age  of  the  children  of  the  grades, 
he  is  ready  to  undertake  color  work  as  it  is  taught  in 
the  schools.  Such  work  awakens  aesthetic  delight, 
and  prepares  the  way  for  a  larger  and  finer  apprecia- 

^  Locke,  "  Some  Thoughts  Concerning  Education,"  Cambridge, 
1889,  pp.  42-43. 


176        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND    HOME 

tion  of  the  beauty  of  nature  and  art.  This  appre- 
ciation ministers  to  his  moral  nature  as  well. 

Drawing  also  should  be  taught,  not  merely  for  utili- 
tarian reasons,  as  Locke  urged,  but  for  aesthetic  and 
moral  reasons  as  well.  The  child's  appreciation  of 
form  develops  very  early,  even  though,  at  first, 
it  is  doubtless  influenced  by  association.  It  is  mixed 
with  other  feelings.  By  the  time  he  reaches  the  first 
grade  of  school  life  he  has  developed  some  apprecia- 
tion of  outhne,  symmetry,  and  proportion.  Other 
than  purely  aesthetic  factors  may  have  assisted  in 
this  development,  but  by  the  time  he  becomes  a 
candidate  for  the  grades,  he  is  ready  to  undertake 
drawing  as  a  means  of  aesthetic  culture. 

The  same  thing  may  be  said  with  reference  to 
modeling.  In  both  of  these  exercises  it  is  easy  to 
secure  aesthetic  reactions.  And  this  is  said  with  a  full 
appreciation  of  the  difference  between  the  direct 
aesthetic  reactions  to  real  objects  and  the  aesthetic  ap- 
preciation that  involves  an  understanding  of  repre- 
sentation, or  the  imaging  of  objects.  This  kind  of 
aesthetic  appreciation  is  later  in  its  development, 
depending,  as  it  does,  on  a  further  development  of  the 
child's  intelligence.  But  even  such  an  appreciation  of 
representation  as  art  involves,  as  compared  v/ith  an  im- 
mediate presentation  of  real  objects,  is  understood  by 
the  child  very  early  in  life.  As  Sully  says,  with  reference 
to   pictorial    representation:     "Children   show  very 


THE    ESTHETIC    LIFE  177 

early  that  picture  semblances  are  understood  in  the 
sense  that  they  call  forth  reactions  similar  to  those  called 
forth  by  reahties."  ^  Tracy  and  Stimpfl  place  the 
dawn  of  the  idea  of  representation  in  the  child  as 
early  as  the  third  or  fourth  year.-  So  teachers  of  the 
early  grades  need  have  no  misgivings  as  to  whether 
the  child  is  mature  enough  to  undertake  such  work 
as  a  means  of  aesthetic  culture.  It  must  be  kept  in 
mind,  however,  that  the  child's  power,  as  a  rule, 
up  to  the  tenth  year,  is  limited  to  the  expression  of 
space  in  two  dimensions.  The  expression  of  the 
third  dimension  is  a  later  development.^  It  ought 
not  to  be  overlooked  that  culture  along  these  Knes 
in  early  years  prepares  for  a  refined  appreciation 
of  art  later ;  and  this  appreciation  cannot  fail  to 
prove,  not  merely  a  source  of  aesthetic  delight,  but 
also  a  means  of  moral  development,  because  of  the 
intimate  relation  between  the  beautiful  and  the 
good. 

All  this  training  in  music,  poetry,  color  work, 
drawing,  modeling,  and  dancing  has  a  tendency  to 
cultivate  in  the  child  a  love  of  the  beautiful,  which 
makes  for  his  moral  unfolding.  In  the  upper  grades, 
this  might  be  supplemented  by  the  introduction  of  an 


1  Sully,  "Studies  of  Childhood,"  p.  309. 

2  Tracy  and  Stimpfl,  "The  Psychology  of   Childhood,"  Boston, 
1909,  p.  167. 

'  Cf.  Tracy  and  Stimpfl,  op.  cil.,  p.  174. 

N 


178        MORAL   TRAINING   IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

art  reader  that  will  introduce  the  child,  in  an  interest- 
ing, concrete,  and  pictorial  manner,  to  the  great 
paintings,  architectural  structures,  statues,  etc.,  of 
the  world.  Indeed,  pictures  of  some  of  these  should 
adorn  the  walls  of  the  schoolroom  and  halls.  Stories 
of  the  lives  of  the  artists  also  serve  to  develop  an 
interest  in  their  work.  Such  biographical  sketches 
might  be  introduced  among  the  biographical  material 
which  a  series  of  ethical  readers  naturally  includes, 
for  many  of  these  artists  were  heroes  in  the  sacrifices 
which  they  made  in  loyal  devotion  to  their  art. 

There  are  other  methods  by  which  the  teacher  can 
supplement  the  more  immediate  work  done  in  the 
class  for  the  development  of  the  child's  love  for  the 
beautiful  in  art.  Every  school  should  be  supplied 
with  a  stereopticon  and  slides  that  could  be  used  for 
the  purpose  of  appeaHng  to  and  educating  the  aes- 
thetic nature  of  the  child.  The  child,  as  well  as  the 
grown-up,  delights  in  looking  at  pictures.  The  pres- 
ent interest  in  moving  pictures  demonstrates  this, 
and  much  can  be  done  for  the  higher  unfolding  of  the 
child  if  an  intelligent  advantage  be  taken  of  this 
pictorial  "instinct."  Gradually  the  child  can  be 
taught  to  appreciate  classic  beauty  in  art  under 
the  skillful  direction  of  the  teacher.  The  parapher- 
nalia for  such  purposes  are  now  so  available  at  a 
comparatively  small  expense  that  there  does  not 
seem  to  be  any  reasonable  excuse  for  a  school  not  to 


THE   ESTHETIC    LIFE  1 79 

have  it  as  part  of  its  general  equipment.  It  can  hardly 
be  questioned  that  the  lantern  slides  and  canvas,  and 
probably  the  moving-picture  apparatus,  are  to  fig- 
ure conspicuously  in  the  education  of  the  near  future, 
and  they  ought  to  be  used  for  purposes  of  aesthetic 
and  moral  culture.  Of  course,  this  applies  more  par- 
ticularly to  teaching  in  the  middle  and  upper  elemen- 
tary grades,  as  it  is  questionable  whether  children 
of  the  lower  grades  possess  the  power  to  appreciate 
the  effects  of  a  picture,  structure,  or  landscape  as  a 
total  or  whole,  as  will  be  remarked  on  later. 

Occasional  excursions  to  art  galleries,  wherever 
this  is  possible,  constitute  another  method  which  may 
be  used  to  advantage  by  the  teacher  in  cultivating 
the  child's  love  of  the  beautiful  in  art.  In  most  of 
our  larger  cities  such  galleries  may  be  found, 
and  here  the  teacher  will  miss  a  good  opportunity 
for  developing  the  aesthetic  nature  if  she  fails  to 
bring  the  children  to  view  the  collections  of  paintings 
and  statuary  which  such  galleries  contain.  Again, 
many  cities  have  beautiful  public  buildings,  churches, 
and  private  residences,  and  it  is  well  to  call  attention 
to  their  beauty,  not  merely  as  a  matter  of  civic  pride, 
but  as  a  matter  of  aesthetic  culture.  Children  of  our 
cities  are  in  the  presence  of  such  buildings  almost 
daily,  and  in  a  subtle  but  sure  manner  do  they  minis- 
ter to  the  aesthetic  nature  of  many  who  are  suscep- 
tible to  the  aesthetic  influences  of  environment.     The 


l8o       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

more  the  teacher  herself  is  a  person  of  refined  and 
developed  taste  in  this  respect,  the  more  will  she 
appreciate  the  value  of  the  ministry  of  such  structures 
to  the  aesthetic  hfe,  and  the  more  will  she  feel  it  a 
matter  of  ethical  obligation  to  make  use  of  them  as 
an  educational  force  in  the  mental  and  moral  life  of 
the  child. 

But  beauty  is  not  confined  to  the  arts.  Nature  is 
clothed  with  beauty  as  with  a  garment,  and,  so  far 
as  possible,  we  should  introduce  the  child  to  this 
beauty  with  the  educational  aim  of  developing  in  him 
a  love  of  the  beautiful.  The  child's  first  aesthetic 
reactions  to  the  beauty  of  nature  occur  at  an  early 
period  in  his  history.  At  first,  of  course,  it  is  confined 
to  single  objects,  and  gradually  extends  to  a  number 
of  objects,  which  are  regarded  as  constituting  a 
whole.  The  child's  aesthetic  delight  in  flowers  is  man- 
ifest as  early,  at  least,  as  the  fourth  year.  Usually 
it  is  the  beauty  or  grace  of  the  movement  of  individual 
things  that  he  first  appreciates.  This  tendency  to  deal 
with  single  objects  as  moving  objects,  which  manifests 
itself  in  his  early  appreciation  of  beauty,  largely 
accounts  for  his  failure  to  appreciate  the  beauty  of 
the  landscape.  He  cannot  grasp  the  unity  in  the 
variety.  He  does  not  see  the  many  as  one.  This 
power  develops  later.  This,  indeed,  is  true,  also  with 
reference  to  his  aesthetic  appreciation  of  paintings 
and   beautiful   buildings.     Hence,   we   must   reckon 


THE    ESTHETIC    LIFE  l8l 

with  this  inability  of  early  years,  and  await  a  ma- 
turer  development. 

The  city  school  suffers  a  disadvantage  compared 
with  the  country  school  in  this  respect;  and  yet,  in 
many  cities,  beautiful  parks  are  maintained,  which  af- 
ford the  teacher  an  excellent  opportunity  to  cultivate 
in  the  pupil  a  love  of  beauty  in  nature.  Among  young 
children  interest  is  dominantly  focused  on  individual 
objects  of  beauty,  or  small  patches  of  landscapes, 
rather  than  on  the  larger  aspects  of  nature.  Hence, 
in  deahng  with  the  child's  aesthetic  nature,  the  teacher 
will  act  accordingly.  But,  later,  interest  in  the  larger 
aspects  of  nature  —  the  field,  the  river,  the  forest,  the 
sea,  the  mountains,  the  landscape,  the  starry  heavens — 
arrests  his  attention,  and  calls  forth  aesthetic  deUght. 
He  learns  to  love  them  for  the  pleasure  which  they 
afford,  and  there  is  as  much  truth  as  poetry  in  Words- 
worth's claim  that  nature  is  a  moral  teacher.  Because 
of  the  subtle  relation  that  exists  between  the  beautiful 
and  the  good,  nature,  through  her  beauty,  ministers 
to  the  child's  moral  being.  So  that  the  wise  teacher 
of  elementary  morals  will  take  advantage  of  this 
fact  in  her  efforts  to  moralize  the  life  of  the  child. 
To  this  end,  she  will  find  it  advisable  to  make  fre- 
quent excursions  into  nature  with  the  children. 
Visits  to  such  abodes  of  beauty  as  the  fields  and 
meadows,  the  seashore  and  mountains,  when  such 
visits  are  practicable,  or  into  the  gardens  and  parks  of 


1 82       MORAL  TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL  AND   HOME 

our  cities,  will  appeal  to  the  child,  and  the  subtle  and 
often  potent  influences  of  such  contact  with  nature 
will  have  a  refining  and  morahzing  effect.  Such 
excursions,  when  physically  possible,  recommend 
themselves  on  more  grounds  than  one.  Their  hy- 
gienic and  social  advantages  are  apparent  at  once, 
so  that  occasional  excursions  of  this  kind  easily 
win  the  approval  of  parents  who  may  not  appreciate 
their  aesthetic  value,  and  who,  on  such  ground  alone, 
might  be  inclined  to  oppose  them,  but  most  of  whom 
welcome  an  opportunity  to  have  their  children  enjoy 
a  good  outing. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  chapter  we  referred  to  the 
aesthetic  as  manifesting  itself  very  early  in  the  child's 
life.  Of  course,  much  of  his  mental  reaction,  in  his 
earliest  years,  to  external  stimuli  in  the  form  of 
beautiful  objects  is  doubtless  chiefly  a  matter  of  the 
sensory.  But  gradually  he  reacts  to  beautiful  ob- 
jects in  the  higher  forms  of  aesthetic  feeling.  Even 
though  we  were  compelled  to  fix  the  time  for  such 
a  reaction  as  late  as  the  tenth  year,  —  as  Professor 
Tracy  and  Dr.  Stimpfl  do,  —  there  would  still  remain 
four  years  of  the  child's  elementary  school  experience 
in  which  to  develop  the  really  aesthetic  feelings. 
During  these  years  he  "is  able  to  enter  fully  into 
those  feelings  which  actuate  most  adults  on  beholding 
a  beautiful  landscape,  a  splendid  painting,  or  a  mag- 
nificent product  of  architectural  skill."     The  earlier 


THE   .ESTHETIC   LIFE  183 

aesthetic  training  prepares  the  way  for  the  later 
culture,  and,  viewed  both  from  the  aesthetic  and  the 
moral  standpoints,  is  certainly  worth  while.  The 
teacher  of  elementary  morals  should  aim  to  develop 
in  the  child  a  moral  attitude  toward  the  beauty  with 
which  he  is  surrounded.  She  should  lead  him  to  an 
intelhgent  appreciation  and  love  of  the  beautiful  as 
a  moral  obligation,  —  as  something  that  he  owes  to 
himself  in  the  interests  of  his  higher  development. 
This  sanction  will  add  to  the  potency  of  the  purely 
educational  sanctions. 

Another  potent  means  of  aesthetic  education  that 
should  be  encouraged  whenever  practicable  is  the 
home  and  school  garden.  The  hygienic  and  utilitarian 
advantages  that  accrue  from  cultivating  such  gardens 
add  to  their  value.  But,  in  addition,  the  aesthetic 
and  moral  benefits  derived  are  great,  and  make  their 
cultivation  worth  while.  In  England  Mrs.  Luther  has 
gone  so  far  as  to  estabhsh  a  basis  for  a  general 
scheme  of  education  through  gardening  and  horti- 
culture. This  is  doubtless  overestimating  the  possi- 
bihties  of  such  training,  but  certainly  the  cultivation 
of  home  and  school  gardens  makes  for  utiHtarian, 
hygienic,  intellectual,  aesthetic,  and  moral  results. 
In  Europe  such  gardens  are  utilized  as  a  means  of 
education.^     In  America  they  have  been  introduced 

'  Georgens,  J.  D. :  Der  Volksschulgarten  und  das  Volksschulhaus. 
Berlin.     F.  Henschel,  1873,  pp.  6-190. 


184        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

in  many  places,  and  the  value  has  been  demonstrated.* 
Such  gardens  can  easily  be  established  by  country 
schools,  and  by  schools  in  villages  and  small  cities. 
The  moral  results  alone  would  justify  the  effort  and 
expense  involved. 

But  beauty  is  not  confined  merely  to  art  and 
nature.  It  is  also  manifest  in  conduct  and  character. 
Indeed  much  of  the  language  that  we  use  in  describing 
conduct  and  character  is  composed  of  terms  descrip- 
tive of  aesthetic  qualities  and  relations.  We  speak 
of  fair  deeds  and  beautiful  acts,  also  of  foul  deeds 
and  repulsive  acts.  We  speak  of  fit  and  unfit  con- 
duct.    We  characterize  a  boy's  conduct  as  clean  or 

Georgil,  Axel :  School  Gardens  in  Sweden.  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Educa- 
tion.    Report  of  Commissioner,  1899-1900,  Vol.  2,  pp.  144 7-1448. 

Karal,  John :  School  Gardens  in  Russia.  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Edu- 
cation.    Report  of  Commissioner,  1897-1898,  Vol.  2,  pp.  1632-1639. 

Le  Bert,  Richard :  School  Gardens  in  Europe.  U.  S.  Dept. 
of  State.     Special  Consular  Reports,  Vol.  20,  Part  2,  pp.  159-221. 

Niessen,  Jos. :  Der  Schulgarten  im  Dienste  der  Erziehung  u.  des 
Unterrichtes.     Diisseldorf.     Schwann,  1896,  pp.  9-176. 

Rooper,  T.  G. :  The  School  Gardens  at  the  Boscombe  British 
School.  London,  British  Board  of  Education,  Special  Reports, 
V^ol.  2,  pp.  224-231.  Reprinted  by  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education. 
Report  of  Commissioner,  1897-1898,  Vol.  i,  pp.  224-227. 

School  Gardens  in  Germany.  London,  British  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, Special  Reports,  1902,  Vol.  9,  pp.  357-404. 

Van  Dom,  Charles :  School  Gardens  in  Europe.  U.  S.  Bureau 
of  Education.  Report  of  Commissioner,  1897-1898,  Vol.  i,  pp. 
224-230. 

^  Cf.  First  Annual  Report  of  the  School  Garden  Associations  of 
America,  191 2.  See  also  M.  Louise  Greene,  "  .\mong  School  Gar- 
dens," Bibliography,  New  York,  1910,  pp.  343-375. 


THE    ESTHETIC    LIFE  1 85 

unclean.  Such  terms  are  aesthetic  terms,  but  we 
apply  them  to  moral  qualities  and  relations  as  well. 
It  reveals  how  closely  related  are  the  beautiful  and 
the  good.  But  not  only  are  they  closely  related,  — 
the  good  is  often  the  beautiful,  and  the  bad  is  often 
the  ugly.  There  is  an  actual  beauty  of  hoKness  and  a 
positive  ugliness  of  vice.  And  these  aesthetic  aspects 
of  good  and  evil  prove  to  be  powerful  motives  in  in- 
fluencing us  to  choose  the  one  and  to  reject  the  other. 
So  true  is  this  that  often  our  response  to  good  is  more 
of  an  aesthetic  than  an  ethical  one.  The  teacher  will 
doubtless  recall  "the  glorious  devil"  of  Tennyson's 
poem,  "The  Palace  of  Art,"  who  was  so  decidedly 
aesthetic  as  to  love  good  only  for  its  beauty.  But 
this  aesthetic  aspect  of  goodness  is  so  pronounced 
that  it  has  much  to  do  in  winning  us  over  to  righteous- 
ness. The  beauty  of  a  kindly  act ;  the  loveUness  of  a 
saintly  character  —  these  appeal  to  us.  "Many 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  through  the  Gate 
Beautiful,"  said  a  distinguished  scholar,  and  it  is  true. 
Were  virtue  clad  in  homely  garb,  she  would  not  have 
such  a  large  nor  such  a  loyal  following.  And  so 
it  is  with  vice.  It  is  the  foulness,  the  downright 
ugliness  of  vice,  that  proves  often  to  be  a  powerful 
repellent,  and  helps  us  in  the  hour  of  temptation. 
^Esthetic  disgust  helps  to  develop  a  really  mora' 
disgust.  As  educators,  then,  we  must  take  cogr|  „ 
zance  of  the  beauty  of  conduct  and  the  beauty  g^^. 


1 86        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

character,  as  well  as  of  their  opposites,  in  our 
attempts  to  develop  the  moral  nature  of  the 
individual. 

Just  how  early  in  his  moral  unfolding  the  child 
responds  to  the  beauty  of  goodness  and  reacts  against 
the  ugliness  of  evil  it  is  difficult  to  say.  This  does 
not  seem  to  have  attracted  the  serious  attention  of 
experimental  students  of  child  psychology.  But  it  is 
worth  their  earnest  consideration,  and  a  systematic 
course  of  investigation  along  these  lines  would  prove 
fruitful  and  should  be  instituted.  Certainly  children 
in  the  upper  grades  are  susceptible  to  the  aesthetic 
influence  of  good  conduct  and  good  character,  and 
it  will  be  well  for  the  teacher  of  elementary  morals 
to  avail  herself  of  the  advantages  of  this  fact  in  her 
work.  It  is  an  interesting  thing  to  note  that  the 
beauty  in  which  children  are  primarily  interested 
in  the  early  years  is  the  beauty  of  movements,  and 
that  most  of  their  attempts  at  drawing  concern  hu- 
man beings  as  subjects.  So,  with  this  early  interest 
in  motion  or  action,  and  with  this  great  interest  in 
personality,  it  would  seem  that  we  might  early  work 
through  the  child's  aesthetic  nature  in  behalf  of 
morality.  There  is  beauty  in  human  life,  and  its 
highest  expression  is  to  be  found  in  the  good  conduct 
aand  good  character  of  the  individual.  Here,  too, 
'ories  of  beautiful  lives,  of  beautiful  deeds,  and  of 
(jgQgautiful  characters  should  be  used  as  an  effective 


THE    ESTHETIC    LIFE  187 

method  in  our  attempts  to  moralize  the  life  of  the 
child  from  this  point  of  view. 

Keeping  in  mind,  then,  what  has  been  said  on  the 
various  aspects  of  the  aesthetic  unfolding  of  children, 
the  following  graded  scheme  for  developing  a  love 
of  the  beautiful  may  be  adopted  :  — 


I.  Love  of  beauty 


Virtues  Grade 

a.  In  nature 

b.  In  art 


I.  Indifference  to  beauty 


J  ,    ^         I  II  III  IV  V  VI  VII  VIII 

c.  In  conduct 

d.  In  character 


Vices  Grade 

a.  In  nature 

b.  In  art 


T  .     .IIIIIIIVV  VIVII  VIII 

c.  in  conduct 

d.  In  character 


Virtues  pertaining  to   the  aesthetic  life  are  illus- 
trated in  the  following  stories  :  — 


"The  Wonder^^^orld, "  from  The  Golden  Ladder  Book. 

"A  Boy's  Son^P'The  Barefoot  Boy,"  "The  Gladness 
of  Nature,"  "RoberU)f  Lincoln,"  "March,"  "How  the 
Moon  Became  Beavmful,"  and  "The  Sea,"  from  The 
Golden  Path  Book. 

"Daffodils,"  from  The  Golden  Door  Book. 

"The  Pearl,"  "Who  is  Silvia?"  "The  Butter  Lion," 
"Night  Coach  to  London,"  and  "Peter  Bell,"  from  The 
Golden  Key  Book. 

"  Thanatopsis, "  from  The  Golden  Word  Book. 

"Sir  Galahad,"  "Our  Mother  Tongue,"  "The  Fiftieth 
Birthday  of  Agassiz,"  "Character,"  "Each  and  All," 
"Good-by,  Proud  World,"  "A   Song,"  "Altars  of   Re- 


1 88        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

membrance,"  "The  World  is  Too  Much  with  Us,"  "The 
Tulip  Garden,"  and  "On  First  Looking  Into  Chapman's 
Homer,"  from  The  Golden  Deed  Book. 

"  May, "  by  R.  M.  Alden.  "  The  Wind, "  by  Christina 
G.  Rossetti.  "Pebbles,"  by  Frank  Dempster  Sherman. 
"The  Voice  of  Spring,"  by  Mary  Howitt.  "The  Succes- 
sion of  Four  Sweet  Months,"  by  Robert  Herrick.  "June 
Weather,"  from  The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal,  and  "The 
Shepherd  of  King  Admetus, "  by  James  Russell  Lowell. 

"Lord  of  Himself,"  by  Henry  Wotton.  "My  Heart 
Leaps  Up,"  and  "Milton  !  thou  should'st  be  living  at  this 
hour,"  by  William  Wordsworth.  "Like  Crusoe  Walking 
by  the  Lonely  Strand,"  by  T.  B.  Aldrich.  Fisherman's 
Ltick,  pp.  81-89,  and  "White  Heather,"  from  Little 
Rivers,  by  Henry  van  Dyke. 


% 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE   MORAL  ATMOSPHERE   OF   THE    SCHOOL 

Modern  biological  science  has  made  us  familiar 
with  the  powerful  influence  of  environment  in  mold- 
ing the  individual.  The  old  problem  as  to  the  result 
of  transporting  twenty  Boston  babies  to  Timbuctoo 
has  no  uncertain  answer.  They  would  grow  up  like 
natives.  Some  advantages  of  their  heredity  might, 
indeed,  appear,  but  in  their  manners  and  customs, 
and  in  their  standards  of  life,  they  would  resemble 
their  black  neighbors.  They  would  be  shaped  by  their 
surroundings.  This  shaping  process  is  very  manifest 
and  effective  in  the  power  of  school  environment. 
When  a  great  English  schoolmaster  spoke  of  the 
"almighty  wall,"  he  meant  that  architecture  is  a 
moral  influence  in  education.  The  money  which 
the  community  spends  in  the  erection  of  good  school 
buildings  is  profitably  spent,  and  bears  fruit  in  better 
citizenship.  It  is  important  for  the  spirit  of  the  school 
that  the  pupils  should  be  proud  of  it.  The  great 
schools  of  England  bring  to  bear  upon  youth  the  im- 
pression of  their  strength,  dignity,  and  charm.  The 
lines  of  their  noble  walls,  the  ivy  overgrowing  them, 


IQO       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL  AND  HOME 

the  trees  and  lawns  about  them,  encourage  self- 
respect  and  courtesy.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
traditional  brutality  of  life  in  our  country  schools 
a  few  generations  ago  was  intimately  connected 
with  the  bare  ugliness  of  the  ordinary  country 
schoolhouse.  The  place  offered  no  suggestion  of 
gentle  manners. 

The  master  of  a  school  who  found  that  the  boys 
misused  the  halls,  scribbling  on  the  walls,  throwing 
things  around  carelessly,  breaking  the  glass  globes 
of  the  gas  jets,  and  playing  rough  games,  changed  the 
situation,  not  by  making  new  rules  or  devising  new 
punishments,  but  by  improving  the  halls.  He  re- 
formed the  manners  of  the  boys  by  repainting  the 
dingy  corridors,  hanging  them  with  attractive  pic- 
tures, and  improving  the  general  order.  For  order 
invites  order,  and  the  perception  that  the  school 
authorities  care  for  the  comfort  and  the  pleasure 
of  the  children  calls  out  a  quick  response. 

In  like  manner  a  moral  lesson  is  taught  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  schoolyard.  Its  carefully  kept  and 
well-painted  fence,  its  inviting  gateway,  the  neatness 
of  the  playground,  the  tended  trees  with  seats  under 
them,  the  shrubs  which  soften  the  sharp  corners,  are 
lessons  in  the  possibilities  of  plots  of  ground.  They 
show  how  a  proper  yard  should  look.  They  are  a 
constant  criticism  upon  the  Htter,  disorder,  and  bare- 
ness of  the  yard  at  home.     When  it  is  perceived  that 


THE    MORAL    ATMOSPHERE    OF    THE    SCHOOL       191 

all  papers  which  are  thrown  down  are  regularly  picked 
up,  especially  when  the  children  themselves  are  dele- 
gated to  pick  them  up,  an  instruction  is  given  in  one 
of  the  elements  of  good  citizenship.  The  children  are 
taught  not  only  the  satisfaction  of  neatness  and  order, 
but  the  obligation  of  social  responsibility.  They 
learn  that  they  are  individually  responsible  for  the 
general  appearance  of  the  school,  and  they  readily 
proceed  to  a  recognition  of  their  similar  relation  to 
the  town. 

In  such  ways  the  school  surrounds  the  life  of  youth 
with  aesthetic  ideals  which  affect  the  moral  life  of  its 
pupils.  The  yard  outside,  and  the  halls  and  rooms 
inside,  are  clean  and  neat  and  in  order.  There  are 
not  only  maps,  but  pictures  on  the  walls,  and  flowers 
in  the  windows.  The  physical  aspect  of  the  place 
assists  the  discipline  of  the  school.  For  disorder 
without  invites  disorder  within,  and  there  is  a 
vital  connection  between  clean  surroundings  and  a 
clean  spirit,  just  as  there  is  between  clean  hands 
and  a  pure  heart.  The  child  who  goes  home  from 
the  public  school  and  begins  to  pick  things  up 
and  put  them  in  their  places,  and  sets  the  room 
to  rights,  and  puts  upon  the  wall  a  picture  from  an 
illustrated  paper  (for  even  poor  art  is  better  than 
no  art),  is  not  only  helping  a  tired  mother,  but  is 
assisting  to  make  a  new  home  in  which  peace  and 
happiness  may  appropriately  dwell.     It  is  true  that 


192        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

in  the  old  story  the  swept  and  garnished  chamber 
was  immediately  occupied  by  seven  devils  more  than 
had  resided  there  before.  Order  and  neatness  will 
not  insure  good  morals;  but  disorder  and  dirt  en- 
courage bad  morals.  A  well-designed  and  well- 
built  schoolhouse,  with  a  well-kept  yard  about  it,  is 
an  assistance  to  all  good  discipline.  The  least  that 
can  be  said  in  its  favor  is  that  it  is  an  important  step 
to  remove  those  conditions  which  make  bad  morals 
easy. 

How  far  this  example  of  cleanHness,  neatness,  and 
order  may  profitably  be  carried  into  direct  precept 
is  a  disputed  question.  A  daily  inspection  of  the 
hands  and  faces  of  the  pupils  is  an  excellent  appKca- 
tion  of  the  principle  to  the  individual,  and  corre- 
sponds —  as  the  children  may  be  told  —  to  the 
similar  inspection  of  soldiers  in  the  camp,  and  of 
students  in  the  military  schools.  But  the  setting  of 
good  advice  in  framed  mottoes  on  the  walls,  and  the 
writing  and  rewriting  of  moral  maxims  in  copy  books, 
is  less  effective.  If  it  seems  well  to  teach  morals  by 
means  of  such  printed  counsels,  it  is  necessary  to 
keep  in  mind  the  need  of  novelty  as  an  aid  to  in- 
fluence. The  motto  which  says  the  same  thing  day 
after  day  becomes  a  part  of  the  conventional  environ- 
ment, Uke  the  walls  and  windows,  and  ceases  to  at- 
tract attention.  But  the  arranging  of  a  series  of 
good  sentences  to  fit  the  same  frames,  and  the  chang- 


THE    MORAL   ATMOSPHERE    OF    THE    SCHOOL       1 93 

ing  of  them  week  by  week,  takes  Into  account  the 
psychological  conditions  under  which  actual  impres- 
sions are  made. 

The  same  arrangement  holds  good  in  regard  to 
school  pictures.  After  the  same  picture  has  hung  in 
the  same  place  on  the  same  wall  for  several  months 
the  children  cease  to  see  it.  Put  in  another,  and  call 
attention  to  it,  with  some  interpretation  of  its  mean- 
ing, and  there  is  a  new  effect.  The  present  condi- 
tions of  public  education  in  many  places  forbid  the 
use  of  many  pictures  which  have  been  found  by  ex- 
perience to  be  most  uplifting.  The  only  reUgion 
which  the  school  officially  teaches  by  its  books,  its 
pictures,  and  its  statues  is  that  of  Greece  and  Rome. 
Even  so,  the  field  of  selection  is  still  large.  The  pur- 
pose is  to  make  the  walls  speak,  and  whatever  pic- 
ture tells  an  instructive  story  is  in  the  line  of  our 
intention.  It  is  now  possible  to  take  almost  any  pic- 
ture in  any  book  and  have  it  so  enlarged  by  photog- 
raphy as  to  adapt  it  to  the  schoolroom,  and  many 
famous  pictures  are  to  be  purchased  in  enlarged  sizes 
for  such  use,  at  reasonable  prices. 

Kindness  to  animals  is  easily  taught  in  pictures. 
The  happiness  of  domestic  affection ;  the  contrasting 
consequences  of  idleness,  selfishness,  and  intemper- 
ance ;  the  splendor  of  courage  in  the  face  of  peril  on 
land  and  sea ;  these  and  other  moral  lessons  may  be 
brought  to  the  assistance  of  youth  by  means  of  the 


194        MORAL   TRAINING    IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

illustrations  which  enliven  the  walls  of  the  school- 
room, like  pictures  in  a  book. 

The  morals  of  good  citizenship  are  naturally  en- 
forced by  such  pictorial  teaching.  The  pictures  will 
show  the  faces  of  the  leaders  and  heroes  of  the  nation, 
and  of  the  events  in  which  they  enacted  their  great 
parts.  The  explorers,  the  colonists,  the  soldiers  of 
the  determining  wars  will  appear  in  illustration,  and 
the  children  will  learn  the  fact  that  the  nation  was 
established  by  self-sacrifice,  and  that  the  blessings  of 
our  present  life  became  possible  by  the  pain  and  hard- 
ship of  those  who  suffered  for  our  sake.  Other  pic- 
tures will  show  the  wonders  and  beauties  of  our 
country,  its  cities,  plains,  mountains,  harvests. 

The  morals  of  international  relationships  may  be 
shown  in  pictures.  The  depicting  of  the  actual  horrors 
of  wars  in  contrast  with  the  peaceful  and  just  settle- 
ments of  the  Hague  Tribunal  may  assist  a  citizenship 
in  which  patience  and  intelligence  may  take  the  place 
of  passion.  Other  lands  may  be  made  to  yield  their 
interest  in  pictures  of  their  scenery  and  people.  The 
horizon  of  human  relationship  may  thus  be  widened. 

The  daily  discipline  of  a  good  school  is  a  constant 
instruction  in  morals.  The  idea  of  order  that  is  sug- 
gested in  the  appearance  of  the  school  is  here  perceived 
in  action.  There  is  a  regulated  system  into  which 
the  individual  must  enter.  He  must  subordinate  his 
own  desires  and  impulses  to  the  general  social  wel- 


THE    MORAL   ATMOSPHERE    OF    THE    SCHOOL      195 

fare.  Thus  he  learns  the  elementary  virtue  of  obe- 
dience. He  takes  orders  and  obeys  them.  He  be- 
comes accustomed  to  an  authority  which  he  must 
respect.  The  conditions  of  home  life  in  crowded 
places  often  make  the  enforcement  of  parental  aur 
thority  diflficult.  There  is  frequently  a  confusion 
and  an  irritation  accompanying  it  which  naturally 
invite  resistance  rather  than  submission.  Life  often 
is  a  struggle  between  the  will  of  a  weary  or  incom- 
petent parent  and  the  will  of  an  active  child.  In 
the  nature  of  the  case  authority  is  discredited.  It 
does  not  command  the  child's  respect.  It  lacks  the 
elements  of  calmness,  justice,  and  consistency.  Thus 
home  is  often  a  hindrance  to  that  citizenship  which 
rests  on  the  basis  of  strong  authority.  The  boys  and 
girls  come  out  of  it  into  the  street  without  regard  for 
law.  They  lack  the  fundamental  quality  of  obe- 
dience. This  must  be  supplied,  if  it  is  to  be  had  at 
all,  by  the  influence  of  the  school.  The  conditions 
make  the  task  of  the  teacher  difficult,  but  they  magnify 
its  importance.  Upon  the  virtue  of  obedience  depend 
both  the  happiness  and  goodness  of  the  child  and 
the  peace  of  the  community.  The  daily  discipline 
which  demands  this  virtue  is  essential  to  our  moral 
welfare.  It  is  a  kind  of  preventive  treatment,  deal- 
ing with  the  early  symptoms  of  the  disease  of  lawless- 
ness which  menaces  our  cities  like  a  plague. 

The  discipline  that  is  founded  on  the  virtue  of 


196        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

obedience  teaches  self-restraint,  patience,  steadfast- 
ness, mastery  of  difl&cult  tasks,  consideration  for  the 
rights  of  others,  and  many  other  social  quaHties. 
The  quiet  room,  the  enforced  attention,  the  required 
courtesy  of  speech  and  conduct,  the  necessity  of 
accompHshment,  the  obligation  of  order,  are  all  parts 
of  a  moral  atmosphere  in  which  children  Uve  under  the 
school  roof  half  a  dozen  hours  a  day. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  plain  that  this  influence  is  by  no 
means  universally  effective.  Boys  and  girls  go  out 
from  the  discipline  of  the  school,  some  of  them  greatly 
helped,  others  apparently  unaffected.  This  is  in  part 
by  reason  of  the  differences  in  temperament,  and  of 
the  differences  in  the  conditions  of  the  out-of-school 
life,  which  make  improvement  difficult  or  easy. 
Thus  the  parable  of  the  sower  shows  the  same  seed 
growing  into  very  different  harvests  according  to  the 
differences  in  the  soil.  But  a  part  of  the  reason  why 
some  children  are  unhelped  by  the  moral  discipHne 
of  the  school  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  dis- 
ciphne  repels  rather  than  attracts  them.  They  hate 
it,  and  react  from  it.  They  regard  the  school,  as  in 
many  instances  children  of  a  previous  generation  re- 
garded the  severity  of  their  homes,  as  a  bondage 
from  which  to  escape.  The  fact  that  the  school  is 
intended  for  their  good  prejudices  them  against  it; 
it  is  associated  with  medicine,  restriction,  and  punish- 
ment which  are  also  intended  for  their  good.     Like 


THE    MORAL    ATMOSPHERE    OF    THE    SCHOOL       197 

the  man  in  the  psalm,  they  hate  to  be  reformed.  They 
are  of  the  mind  of  Sanballat  the  Horonite  and  Tobiah 
the  Ammonite  who,  when  they  heard  that  there  was 
come  a  man  to  seek  the  welfare  of  the  children  of 
Israel,  were  "grieved  exceedingly." 

On  the  other  hand,  children  commonly  begin  to 
go  to  school  with  great  expectations.  They  are  de- 
lighted with  the  new  experience.  One  of  the  problems 
of  education  is  to  discover  how  to  maintain  this 
initial  interest.  It  is  plain  that  something  is  the 
matter.  Some  misreading  of  the  nature  of  youth 
changes  this  palace  into  a  prison.  The  most  serious 
aspect  of  this  common  failure  of  the  school  is  that  it 
vitiates  the  moral  atmosphere.  It  dulls  or  destroys 
that  receptivity  on  which  the  moral  value  of  the 
school  depends.  The  lessons  of  the  books  are  learned, 
because  this  learning  can  be  made  a  matter  of  inevi- 
table obligation,  but  the  lesson  of  the  school  itself  is 
lost  in  the  child's  resentment  at  the  school's  existence. 

There  is  a  possible  solution  of  at  least  a  part  of  this 
difficulty  in  the  new  Uberty  which  the  Montessori 
method  would  introduce  into  education.  The  periods 
of  enforced  quiet  may  be  shortened,  and  more  op- 
portunity presented  for  that  activity  of  body  which  is 
instinctive  in  the  growing  child.  Then,  too,  the  pro- 
cesses of  instruction  may  be  made  more  interesting 
by  relating  them  more  evidently  to  the  conditions  of 
actual   life.     Thus   geography  may  begin  with   the 


198        MOIL\L   TRAINING    IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

facts  which  are  in  plain  sight,  the  local  river,  or  hill, 
or  plain,  and  extend  gradually  into  the  distance. 
History  may  be  at  first  concerned  with  the  annals  of 
the  towTi,  the  district,  the  state,  and  so  on  back  to 
Greece  and  Rome,  to  the  Euphrates  and .  the  Nile. 
Local  geology,  local  botany,  the  biology  of  the  fields, 
the  chemistry  of  the  kitchen  appeal  to  the  natural 
curiosity  of  youth.  In  these  directions  the  school  is 
making  education  interesting,  and  is  at  the  same  time 
developing  children  into  intelligent  citizens.  One 
reason  why  many  children  quickly  lose  interest  in  the 
school  is  because  they  do  not  understand  what  it  is 
all  about.  They  do  not  see  the  good  of  it.  There  is 
no  plain  relation  in  their  minds  between  their  lessons 
and  their  hves.  The  school  misses  that  point  of  con- 
tact which  is  the  initial  necessity  in  all  effective  in- 
struction. This  contact  is  effected  by  the  more 
definite  moralizing  of  education ;  that  is,  by  keeping 
the  connection  clear  between  the  school's  work  and 
the  desired  result :  an  intelhgent,  competent,  depend- 
able, and  useful  citizen.  For  example,  a  report  on  the 
methods  of  moral  instruction  in  Germany  finds  "the 
love  of  home,  city,  and  country  earnestly  inculcated" 
in  the  lessons  in  geography.  "A  sense  of  natural 
beauty,  of  admiration  for  great  and  good  citizens,  of 
civic  duty  and  respect  for  law  is  cultivated.  The 
duty  of  the  city  to  provide  schools,  water  and  hght, 
good  roads,  police,  etc.,  is  explained.     Small  social 


THE  MORAL  ATMOSPHERE  OF  THE  SCHOOL   1 99 

duties  are  pointed  out :  '  If  you  pick  up  something 
in  the  street,  what  must  you  do  with  it  ? '  'If  you  see 
an  accident,  to  whom  must  you  tell  it ? '  'To  whom 
do  the  public  buildings  and  gardens  belong?'  and 
the  duty  following  on  ownership  is  made  clear.  The 
names  and  services  of  great  statesmen,  writers,  and 
philanthropists,  born  in  their  city,  are  familiar  to 
children  of  eight  and  ten." 

Such  instruction,  however,  is  difiEicult  because  it  is 
not  provided  for  to  any  great  extent  in  text-books. 
The  materials  are  for  the  most  part  accessible  enough, 
but  they  are  not  arranged  for  the  teacher's  use  in 
lessons.  The  moralizing  of  education  by  making  use 
of  local  facts  and  conditions  for  the  training  of  chil- 
dren to  live  their  immediate  lives  depends  accordingly 
upon  the  teacher.  The  moral  atmosphere  of  the 
school,  like  its  physical  atmosphere,  is  determined 
by  the  teacher.  It  is  the  teacher  who  opens  the  win- 
dows, or  keeps  them  closed.  And  this  applies  to  all 
kinds  of  windows  through  which  children  look  out 
upon  the  world  in  which  they  live.  It  is  in  the  per- 
sonality of  the  teacher,  as  much,  indeed,  as  in  the 
method,  that  the  problems  of  the  interest  and  value  of 
education  are  to  be  worked  out. 

The  teacher  whose  ideals  consist  in  a  quiet  school- 
room and  a  successful  examination  at  the  end  of  the 
term  may  achieve  certain  results,  but  at  the  same  time 
may  make  school  children  hate  the  school,  and  thus 


200      MORAL   TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL    AND    HOME 

may  bring  to  naught  all  the  moral  opportunities. 
Boys  and  girls  may  go  out  from  such  a  school  know- 
ing how  to  read  and  write  and  cipher,  but  ignorant 
of  the  value  of  the  virtues,  and  resenting  authority. 
They  may  be  sent  out  into  the  community  equipped 
to  do  evil  intelligently,  and  inclined  to  do  it.  The 
very  excellence  of  the  intellectualized  instruction  may 
make  the  school  a  menace  to  the  state. 

It  is  only  by  moralizing  instruction  that  it  is 
made  either  interesting  or  effective.  It  commands 
the  attention  and  the  respect  of  youth  by  being  evi- 
dently practical,  worth  while,  and  applicable  to  Ufe. 
The  teacher's  true  ideal  is  a  good  citizen.  The 
teacher's  moral  problem  is  to  make  the  school  life 
yield  that  fine  result.  Everything  is  to  be  made  to 
bend  that  way.  The  conduct  of  the  school,  the  care 
of  the  fabric,  the  pictures  on  the  walls,  the  songs  which 
are  sung  and  learned  by  heart,  the  lessons  which  are 
taught,  are  all  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  flag  which 
floats  over  the  school  roof.  But  the  first  essential  to 
that  harmony  is  the  spirit  of  the  teacher. 

The  most  influential  moral  fact  about  the  school  is 
the  presence  of  the  teacher.  For  the  most  valuable 
contribution  which  a  good  school  can  make  to  the 
equipment  of  a  growing  citizen  is  a  point  of  view,  a 
way  of  looking  at  things,  a  sense  of  values.  And  this, 
for  good  or  ill,  the  teacher  gives.  It  all  depends  upon 
the  teacher's  personality.     The  details  of  most  of  the 


THE    MORAL   ATMOSPHERE    OF    THE    SCHOOL       20I 

lessons  are  eventually  forgotten,  but  the  impression 
of  the  teacher  remains.  The  sincerity,  the  fairness, 
the  sympathy,  the  kindness,  the  patience,  the  cour- 
tesy of  the  teacher,  or  the  lack  of  those  qualities  are 
the  ambassadors  of  moral  influence.  They  prepare 
the  way,  or  block  it,  for  acceptance  of  the  teacher's 
ideals  of  hfe.  What  is  taught  is  learned,  or  not,  ac- 
cording as  these  virtues  prevail  in  the  teacher's  life. 
They  make  the  school  liked  or  disliked  ;  they  make  it 
morally  effective  or  ineffective.  Without  them,  the 
teacher  may  give  the  most  admirable  instruction  in 
all  the  aspects  of  the  moral  life,  and  achieve  meager 
moral  results.  With  them,  the  instruction  may  be 
not  so  admirable  and  yet  be  crowned  with  splendid 
moral  accomplishment.  The  most  important  part  of 
the  moralizing  of  the  school  consists  in  the  moralizing 
of  the  teacher.  And,  in  the  hands  of  a  teacher  whose 
life  itself  is  an  expression  of  the  cardinal  virtues,  a 
system  of  moral  culture  becomes  a  powerful  instru- 
ment in  the  moralization  of  the  pupil. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

RELIGION   AND   MORAL   TRAINING 

A  BOOK  on  the  subject  of  moral  training  would  not 
be  complete  without  some  reference  to  the  relations 
of  morahty  and  religion,  and  the  significance  of  these 
relations  for  moral  education.  Religion  is  not  an 
artificial  thing  grafted  on  human  nature.  It  is  an 
integral  part  of  human  nature  itself.  It  is  native  to 
the  soul.  Man  is  just  as  essentially  religious  as  he 
is  social,  political,  moral,  and  aesthetic  in  nature. 
Anthropology  and  psychology  bear  testimony  to 
this  fact.  The  former  affirms  the  practical  univer- 
sality of  religion,  and  the  latter  shows  a  man's  capacity 
for  it,  and  the  history  of  the  race  reveals  that  religion 
has  been  intimately  associated  with  his  moral  develop- 
ment. 

Religion,  in  its  highest  form,  affirms  our  relation  to 
an  unseen  order  —  to  a  personal  God  who  rules  in 
righteousness,  and  to  an  immortal  Hfe  in  which  virtue 
is  rewarded  and  vice  punished.  Opinions  will  differ 
as  to  the  nature  of  such  reward  and  punishment,  but 
Christian  believers  at  least  seem  to  be  at  one  con- 
cerning the  fundamental  fact  that  "whatsoever  a  man 


RELIGION   AND   MORAL   TRAINING  203 

soweth  that  shall  he  also  reap "  —  both  in  this  life 
and  in  the  life  which  is  to  come. 

Now  belief  in  a  God  who  approves  righteousness  and 
disapproves  unrighteousness  —  who  vouchsafes  aid 
to  the  good  and  punishes  the  evil  —  has  proven,  and 
continues  to  prove,  a  powerful  factor  in  the  develop- 
ment of  character  and  conduct,  both  in  the  individual 
and  in  the  race.  To  add  these  religious  sanctions  to 
the  ethical  sanctions  cannot  fail  to  influence  power- 
fully the  moral  hfe.  Kant  conceives  of  reUgion  as  the 
Divine  sanction  of  morahty.  Whatever  else  it  may 
be,  it  is  at  least  this,  and  it  can  be  utilized  most 
effectively  in  the  promotion  of  right  living.  To  be- 
lieve in  a  God  who  approves  and  aids  men  in  the  great 
struggle  to  do  right,  and  thus  to  feel  that  ultimately 
right  will  triumph  over  wrong ;  and  to  believe  in  the 
imperishabiUty  of  good  character,  in  the  immortality 
of  virtue,  cannot  fail  to  be  an  inspiration  to  him  who 
is  fighting  the  battle  for  righteousness,  both  in  his 
own  life  and  in  the  hfe  of  society.  On  the  other  hand, 
to  believe  that  God  punishes  evil  doing,  not  only  here 
and  now,  but  also  hereafter  —  no  matter  in  what 
manner  —  undoubtedly  proves  a  deterrent  to  wrong 
conduct.  The  dreams  that  may  come  ''in  that  sleep 
of  death"  "must  give  us  pause";  and  "the  dread  of 
something  after  death  .  .  .  puzzles  the  will  .  .  .  thus 
conscience  does  make  cowards  of  us  all."  The  moral- 
ity that  is  determined  by  such  motives  may  not  be 


204       MORAL  TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL  AND   HOME 

of  the  highest  type,  but  it  is  better  than  the  immoral- 
ity that  it  restrains.  So  that  rehgion  is  bound  to  con- 
tinue to  be  a  most  powerful  influence  in  the  moral 
life  of  man. 

If  we  regard  moral  education  from  the  standpoint 
of  religion,  we  must  try  to  make  the  religious  sanctions 
operative  as  motives  in  the  child's  moral  life.  Most 
people,  and  especially  most  young  people,  need  more 
than  the  ordinary  moral  sanctions.  They  need  the 
supreme  assistance  that  religion  affords.  Conscious- 
ness of  the  presence  of  God,  and  belief  in  present  and 
future  reward  and  punishment,  constitute  motives 
which,  when  they  become  part  of  life,  carry  youth  out 
of  the  protection  and  constant  course  of  the  home  and 
school  into  the  independence  of  the  world,  prepared 
to  encounter  temptation.  They  tend  to  create  a 
goodness  that  upholds  the  soul  in  situations  where 
moral  restraint  alone  might  not  avail. 

The  fact  that  it  is  helpful  to  be  under  observation 
applies  not  only  to  childhood  and  youth,  but  to  the 
whole  course  of  human  life.  We  are  all  better  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  we  live  under  the  eyes  of  our 
acquaintances.  But  the  observation  sometimes  fails 
us.  Boys  and  girls  who  have  been  cared  for  wisely, 
and  watched  diligently,  go  out  beyond  that  kind 
of  ministration  into  the  affairs  of  life.  They  still 
need  it,  —  more,  perhaps,  than  ever.  They  should  be 
taught  to  find  it  in  the  consciousness  of  the  presence 


I 


RELIGION    AND   MORAL   TRAINING  205 

of  God.  They  should  be  enabled  to  say  to  themselves 
in  the  hour  of  temptation,  "Thou,  God,  seest  me." 

Furthermore  human  nature  is  so  constituted  as  to 
need  to  be  reminded  of  consequences.  When  the 
apostles  said  to  Jesus,  "We  have  left  all  and  followed 
Thee,  what  shall  we  have  therefore?"  we  perceive 
that  the  question  is  not  quite  in  accord  with  the  per- 
fection of  the  saints,  but  we  perceive  also  that  in 
it  human  nature  frankly  speaks,  and  the  supreme 
Teacher  took  this  into  account  when  he  brought  the 
future  to  assist  the  present :  "  Whatsoever  a  man 
soweth  that  shall  he  also  reap."  Thus  the  conse- 
quences are  made  to  depend  for  their  certainty,  not  on 
a  revelation,  but  on  the  universal  laws  of  being.  Boys 
and  girls  should  come  from  school  not  only  with  an 
absolute  conviction  that  the  consequence  of  adding 
two  to  two  is  four,  but  with  a  conviction  no  less  ab- 
solute that  the  consequence  of  adding  sin  to  sin  is 
death,  —  the  death  of  the  soul.  The  phrase  may 
be  taken  to  mean  annihilation,  or  eternal  punishment, 
or  any  other  kind  of  loss.  It  matters  little ;  the 
main  thing  is  the  firm  assurance  that  sin  leads  to  loss, 
as  the  eating  of  unwholesome  food  leads  to  disease. 
According  to  the  universal  laws  of  the  universe,  even 
neglect  is  punished ;  the  neglected  soul  suffers,  like 
the  neglected  body. 

The  principal  virtues  of  the  religious  life  based  on 
the   child's   immediate   relations   to    God   are   Jaith^ 


2o6      MOILA.L    TRAINING    IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND    HOME 

obedience,  gratitude,  love,  reverence,  and  prayer.  By 
faith  is  not  meant  subscription  to  creed  or  dogma, 
but  simple  belief  and  trust  in  God  and  in  His  goodness. 
Obedience  is  conformity  to  His  will  as  the  practical 
measure  of  moral  obligation.^  Gratitude  is  thankful 
recognition  of  God's  kindness  as  manifested  in  His 
provision  for  all  our  wants,  —  physical,  mental,  and 
spiritual.  Love  involves  desire  to  hold  fellowship 
with,  as  well  as  desire  to  serve,  the  Heavenly  Father. 
Reverence  is  a  fitting  emotional  attitude  towards 
God's  greatness  and  goodness.  Prayer  is  recognition 
of  our  dependence  on  God  which  seeks  expression  in 
asking  for  divine  assistance,  and  in  thankful  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  same. 

These  virtues  are  closely  related  and,  of  course, 
more  or  less  overlap.  They  should  be  developed  in 
every  child,  and  the  best  method  of  cultivating  them 
is  to  give  the  child  sane  ideas  or  conceptions  of  God. 
Children  should  be  taught  the  fatherhood  of  God  — 
that  they  are  children  of  the  Heavenly  Father,  who 
loves  them  and  cares  for  them.  His  bountiful  pro- 
vision for  their  physical  wants,  as  manifest  in  nature, 
can  be  easily  illustrated.  The  food  we  eat,  the  water 
we  drink,  the  clothes  we  wear,  the  air  we  breathe, 
the  fire  that  keeps  us  warm,  etc.,  all  lend  themselves 
to  illustrate  the  providential  care  of  the  Divine  Father. 

1  It  is  not  meant  by  this  that  God's  will  is  the  ultimate  ground  of 
moral  obligation  in  the  philosophical  sense. 


RELIGION    AND    MORAL   TRAINING  207 

Gradually,  attention  should  be  called  to  the  higher 
spiritual  blessings  of  God's  fatherly  love.  To  teach 
children  in  this  manner  that  they  are  the  children  of 
God  is  to  secure  a  wholesome,  natural  response  in 
the  form  of  simple  trust,  obedience,  gratitude,  love, 
reverence,  and  prayer.  When  the  child  knows  that 
his  Heavenly  Father  is  loving  and  kind,  it  is  much 
easier  to  secure  reverential  obedience.  And  when, 
further,  the  child  is  made  acquainted  with  this  will 
as  a  righteous  will  that  approves  the  good  and  dis- 
approves the  evil,  it  will  be  easier  to  obtain  reverential 
conformity  to  it,  and  the  other  virtues  naturally 
follow.  It  is  better  to  appeal  to  him  from  this  point 
of  view  than  from  the  standpoint  of  abject  fear. 
Too  often  has  the  child  been  restrained  from  wrong 
doing  by  presenting  unworthy  conceptions  of  God  as  a 
stern  and  cruel  lawgiver  and  executioner,  or  concep- 
tions of  equal  unworthiness.  John  Fiske,  in  one  of  his 
interesting  and  suggestive  books,  tells  us  of  his  boyhood 
conception  of  God  as  a  great  big  man,  sitting  behind 
a  desk,  with  an  open  ledger,  keeping  account  of  his 
sins ;  and  Professor  Bowne,  in  commenting  upon  this 
conception,  sardonically  adds,  "And  especially  down 
on  that  particular  boy."  Unfortunately  this  is 
representative  of  much  of  the  kind  of  teaching  that 
has  been  indulged  in  with  reference  to  the  nature  of 
God  and  of  His  relations  to  us.  Instead  of  drawing 
the  child  to  God,  such  teaching  really  alienates  him. 


2o8        MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

God's  will  becomes  obnoxious  and  irksome  instead  of 
attractive.  Such  teaching  means  spiritually  flogging 
the  child  into  obedience  to  a  kind  of  arbitrary  will 
rather  than  winning  him  into  a  recognition  of  the 
worth  or  goodness  of  a  loving  Father's  will.  Far 
better  is  it  to  lead  children  to  feel  that  God  is  a  kind 
and  gracious  Father,  who  loves  the  good,  who  is  in- 
terested in  His  children,  and  desires  that  they  should 
be  good,  because  goodness  is  better  than  evil. 

President  Hall  favors  a  different  mode  of  procedure. 
He  declares :  — 

"The  child's  conception  of  God  should  not  be  personal 
or  too  familiar  at  first,  but  He  should  appear  distant  and 
vague,  inspiring  awe  and  reverence  far  more  than  love ; 
in  a  word,  as  the  God  of  nature  rather  than  as  devoted 
to  ser\dceable  ministrations  to  the  child's  individual  wants. 
The  latter  should  be  taught  to  be  a  faithful  servant  rather 
than  a  favorite  of  God.  The  inestimable  pedagogic  value 
of  the  God-idea  consists  in  that  it  widens  the  child's 
glimpse  of  the  whole,  and  gives  the  first  presentiment  of 
the  universality  of  laws,  such  as  are  observed  in  its  ex- 
periences and  that  of  others,  so  that  all  things  seem  com- 
prehended under  one  stable  system  of  government.  The 
slow  realization  that  God's  laws  are  not  like  those  of 
parents  and  teachers,  evadible,  suspensible,  but  change- 
less, and  their  penalties  sure  as  the  laws  of  nature,  is  a 
most  important  factor  of  moral  training.  First,  the  law, 
the  schoolmaster,  then  the  Gospel ;  first,  nature,  then  grace, 
is  the  order  of  growth."  ^ 

1  Hall, "  Youth,  Its  Education,  Regimen,  and  Hygiwe,"  New  York> 
1912,  p.  355. 


RELIGION   AND   MORAL   TRAINING  209 

We  cannot  accept  this  view.  After  all,  what  we 
are  aiming  at  in  rehgious  training  is  to  secure  a  loving 
obedience  to  God's  will  on  the  part  of  the  child.  We 
aim  to  do  this  because  this  will  is  a  righteous  will. 
And  the  question  is,  How  can  such  loving  obedience 
best  be  secured  ?  The  most  natural  method  of  pro- 
cedure is  to  introduce  the  child  to  God,  and  his  rela- 
tions to  Him,  through  the  concept  of  Fatherhood.  By- 
experience  the  child  understands  in  a  measure  what 
fatherhood  and  motherhood  mean.  In  the  large 
majority  of  cases  he  knows  that  it  means  loving  care, 
protection,  provision  for  wants,  etc.  He  knows,  too, 
that  it  means  acceptance  of  the  parents'  will  as  the 
measure  of  right  and  wrong.  It  means,  too,  on  the 
part  of  the  child,  an  association  of  worth  with  the 
parents'  personality.  This  being  so,  it  is  a  natural 
and  easy  ascent  from  such  experience  with  his  earthly 
parents  to  the  conception  of  and  belief  in  the  Heavenly 
Parent's  will  as  the  measure  of  duty,  and  to  the 
Heavenly  Father's  personahty  as  representing  the 
highest  worth.  Then  obedience  to  God's  will  follows 
quite  naturally,  and  with  it,  or  following  closely  after 
it,  will  come  the  other  religious  virtues  as  well. 

If  we  thus  teach  the  child  the  Fatherhood  of  God, 
he  understands  from  his  experience  with  his  earthly 
parents  that  parental  love  involves  both  approval  and 
disapproval  of  his  conduct.  Love  involves  both, 
and    such    approbation   and  disapprobation  can   be 


2IO       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

utilized  as  powerful  motives  in  the  child's  moral  life. 
The  approval  and  disapproval  of  his  father  and 
mother  are  at  first  unquestionably  the  most  influen- 
tial motives  in  his  daily  life.  Dr.  Hall  does  not  ex- 
aggerate the  case  in  his  admirable  words  :  — 

"The  will,  purpose,  and  even  mood  of  small  children, 
when  alone,  are  fickle,  fluctuating,  contradictory.  Our 
very  presence  imposes  one  general  law  on  them,  viz., 
that  of  keeping  our  good  will  and  avoiding  our  dis- 
pleasure. As  the  plant  grows  towards  the  light,  so  they 
unfold  in  the  direction  of  our  wishes,  felt  as  by  divination. 
They  respect  all  you  smile  at,  even  buffoonery;  look  up 
in  their  play  to  call  your  notice,  to  study  the  lines  of  your 
sympathy,  as  if  their  chief  vocation  was  to  learn  your 
desires.  Their  early  lies  are  often  saying  what  they  think 
will  please  us,  knowing  no  higher  touchstones  of  truth. 
If  we  are  careful  to  be  wisely  and  without  excess  happy 
and  affectionate  when  they  are  good,  and  saddened  and 
slightly  cooled  in  manifestations  of  love  if  they  do  wrong, 
the  power  of  association  in  the  normal,  eupeptic  child 
will  early  choose  right  as  surely  as  pleasure  increases 
vitality.  If  our  love  is  deep,  obedience  is  an  instinct  if  not 
a  religion.  The  child  learns  that  while  it  cannot  excite 
our  fear,  resentment,  or  admiration,  etc.,  it  can  act  on  our 
love,  and  this  should  be  the  first  sense  of  its  own  efficiency. 
Thus,  too,  it  first  learns  that  the  way  of  passion  and  im- 
pvdse  is  not  the  only  rule  of  life,  and  that  something  is 
gained  by  resisting  them.  It  imitates  our  acts  long  before 
it  can  understand  our  words.  As  if  it  felt  its  insignificance, 
and  dreaded  to  be  arrested  in  some  lower  phrase  of  its 
development,  its  instinct  for  obedience  becomes  almost  a 


RELIGION    AND    MORAL    TRAINING  211 

passion.  As  the  vine  must  twine  or  grovel,  so  the  child 
comes  unconsciously  to  worship  idols,  and  imitates  bad 
patterns  and  examples  in  the  absence  of  worthy  ones. 
He  obeys  as  with  a  deep  sense  of  being  our  chattel,  and 
at  bottom,  admires  those  who  coerce  him,  if  the  means  be 
wisely  chosen.  The  authority  must,  of  course,  be  ascen- 
dancy over  heart  and  mind.  The  more  absolute  such  au- 
thority the  more  the  will  is  saved  from  caprice  and  feels 
the  power  of  steadiness.  Such  authority  excites  the  unique, 
unfathomable  sense  of  reverence,  which  measures  the 
capacity  for  will-culture,  and  is  the  strongest  and  soundest 
of  all  moral  motives.  It  is  also  the  most  comprehensive, 
for  it  is  first  felt  only  towards  persons,  and  personality 
is  a  bond,  enabling  any  number  of  complex  elements 
to  act  or  be  treated  as  a  whole,  as  everything  does  and  is 
in  the  child's  soul,  instead  of  in  isolation  and  detail.  In 
the  feeling  of  respect  culminating  in  worship  almost 
all  educational  motives  are  involved,  but  especially  those 
which  alone  can  bring  the  will  to  maturity;  and  happy 
the  child  who  is  bound  by  the  mysterious  and  constraining 
sympathy  of  dependence,  by  which,  if  unblighted  by  cyni- 
cism, a  worthy  mentor  directs  and  lifts  the  will.  This  un- 
conscious reflection  of  our  character  and  wishes  is  the 
diviner  side  of  childhood,  by  which  it  is  quick  and  re- 
sponsive to  everything  in  its  moral  environment."  ^ 

If  this  be  true,  as  undoubtedly  it  is  true,  then  why 
not  take  advantage  of  this  fact  in  our  efforts  to  secure 
the  child's  obedience  to  God's  will.  .  If  his  conception 
of  God  is  that  of  a  loving  Heavenly  Father,  then  this 
Father's  approval  and  disapproval,  just  as  his  earthly 

^Op.  cit.,  pp.  332,  iT,^. 


212        MORAL  TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

father's  approval,  must  act  as  a  potent  motive  in  the 
child's  life. 

A  difficult  problem  arises  when  we  try  to  represent 
the  divine  disapproval  in  the  form  of  actual  punish- 
ment. It  is  well  to  emphasize  the  fact  of  divine  dis- 
pleasure, but  just  how  to  represent  the  manifestations 
of  that  displeasure  is  not  an  easy  task.  With  very 
young  children  it  is  questionable  whether  it  is  wise  to 
refer  to  "future  punishment" — punishment  after 
death.  It  is  better  to  deal  with  the  present  life.  We 
can  point  out  the  fact  that  God  punishes  through  the 
laws  of  his  world.  This  can  be  illustrated  very  simply 
by  showing  the  child  how,  if  we  violate  the  laws  of  our 
physical  being,  which  is  part  of  God's  universe,  we 
suffer  —  we  are  punished.  Gradually  we  can  teach 
him  that  in  a  like  manner  we  suffer,  not  only  here,  but 
hereafter,  if  we  violate  the  laws  of  our  spiritual  being. 
In  dealing  with  this  subject,  however,  extreme  care 
should  be  taken,  not  to  give  the  child  unworthy 
conceptions  of  God.  Such  representations  cannot 
develop  a  wholesome  rehgious  life  in  the  child.  The 
"  Thou  shalt  nots  "  are  necessary,  but  the  consequences 
of  failing  to  heed  them  should  not  be  presented  to  the 
child  in  such  a  manner  as  to  lead  to  conceptions  of  God 
that  would  make  a  development  of  genuine  love  for 
Him  impossible. 

As  God's  will  relates  largely  to  man's  duty  to  him- 
self and  to  his  neighbor  we  can  easily  see  how  the 


RELIGION   AND   MORAL   TRAINING  213 

religious  sanctions  can  be  utilized  in  training  the  child 
in  the  virtues  and  protecting  him  from  the  vices 
growing  out  of  his  relations  to  himself  and  to  society. 
In  other  words,  we  can  bring  the  divine  approval  and 
disapproval  to  bear  on  our  efforts  to  establish  children 
in  the  bodily,  intellectual,  social,  political,  and  aes- 
thetic virtues,  and  to  guard  them  against  the  corre- 
sponding vices.  God's  will  is  on  the  side  of  human 
righteousness.  It  approves  and  rewards  virtue,  and 
disapproves  and  punishes  vice.  When  the  child  is  led 
to  understand  this,  moral  training  becomes  much  more 
effective. 

To  the  above  religious  teaching  in  its  relation  to 
morality  might  be  added  the  example  of  Christ. 
This,  at  least,  will  be  done  by  the  Christian.  As 
the  old  adage  says,  "Example  is  more  powerful  than 
precept."  Such  a  notable  example  of  loyalty  to  the 
highest  ideals  will  probably  be  more  powerful  in  the 
life  of  youth  than  in  the  life  of  childhood,  for  it  is 
especially  in  middle  adolescence  that  the  altruism  of 
human  nature  manifests  itself  in  a  pronounced  man- 
ner, and  it  is  then  that  the  sublime  altruism  of  Jesus 
will  strongly  appeal  to  young  people.  Nevertheless, 
the  child  is  by  no  means  completely  self-centered. 
His  altruistic  nature  manifests  itself  early,  and  the 
example  of  Jesus  may  prove  effective,  especially  with 
children  of  the  age  of  those  in  the  higher  elementary 
grades.     This  example  should  figure  in  the  moral  and 


214        MORAL   TRAINING   IN    THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

religious  instruction  of  the  home  and  the  private 
school. 

Moral  training,  then,  cannot  properly  be  divorced 
from  religion.  In  such  training  of  children  we  ought 
to  avail  ourselves  of  the  religious  sanctions  as  they 
relate  to  duty  to  self  and  duty  to  others.  And  the 
virtues  that  grow  out  of  the  child's  immediate  re- 
lation to  liis  Heavenly  Father  should  also  be  recog- 
nized and  taught.  We  should  also  avail  ourselves 
of  the  example  of  Jesus.  All  this  can  be  done  in  the 
home  and  in  the  private  school  A\dthout  opposition ; 
but  a  different  situation  confronts  us  in  the  public 
school. 

Having  a  population,  part  Jew,  part  Catholic,  part 
Protestant,  our  public  schools  must  take  this  situa- 
tion into  account.  The  names  stand  for  differences 
whose  significance  is  not  only  of  the  past  but  of  the 
present.  They  represent  mighty  and  continuing 
controversies  which  have  wrought  their  arguments 
into  deep  prejudices.  We  may  deplore  the  fact,  but 
here  it  is,  and  we  must  reckon  with  it.  It  means 
that  nothing  anti- Jewish,  anti-Catholic,  or  anti-Prot- 
estant may  be  permitted  to  enter  into  our  public  in- 
struction in  the  schools. 

The  claim  of  agnostic  or  atheist  parents  to  be  like- 
wise considered  is  quite  a  different  matter.  We  can- 
not take  account  of  individual  departures  from  our 
common  customs  and  opinions.     Persons  thus  depart- 


RELIGION   AND   MORAL   TRAINING  21 5 

ing  must  themselves  pay  for  the  luxury  of  dissent. 
Otherwise,  we  are  under  the  tyranny  of  small  minori- 
ties. It  is  obviously  absurd  to  ask  a  God-fearing 
community  to  take  the  name  of  God  out  of  the  text- 
books of  the  common  schools  because  two  or  three 
citizens  do  not  believe  that  God  exists.  Such  a  pro- 
cedure would  change  religious  liberty  into  a  state  of 
narrow  limitation  such  as  now  controls  the  govern- 
ment of  France. 

There  are  French  officials  who  do  not  dare  to  go  to 
church.  A  Christian  man  in  public  office  is  debarred 
from  the  free  exercise  of  his  rehgion  by  the  fear  of 
hurting  somebody's  feelings.  Text-books  which  teach 
the  resources  and  splendors  of  France  have  been 
changed  so  as  to  omit  all  reference  to  churches.  No 
mention  is  made  of  the  cathedrals  which  are  the  glory 
of  such  places  as  Rouen  and  Amiens.  The  pictures 
of  such  buildings  have  been  cut  out.  The  only 
people  who  enjoy  religious  liberty  in  France  at  pres- 
ent are  those  who  do  not  beUeve  in  religion.  This, 
of  course,  is  a  reaction  from  a  local  situation,  and 
there  are  many  reasons  for  it,  good  and  bad.  We 
refer  to  it  as  illustrating  the  possibility  of  bringing 
people  into  bondage  in  the  name  of  freedom.  It  is 
an  example  of  the  narrowness  of  breadth.  After  all, 
the  American  people  are  by  history  and  in  fact  Chris- 
tians ;  at  least,  they  are  of  the  religion  of  the  Bible. 
Our  brethren  and  fellow-citizens  who  dissent  from 


2l6       MORAL   TRAINING   IN   THE   SCHOOL  AND   HOME 

that  large  definition  of  religion  are  at  liberty  to  hold 
their  own  negation,  and  so  to  teach  their  children. 
They  are  not  at  liberty  to  deprive  their  neighbors  of 
the  privilege  of  the  presence  of  religion  in  the  schools. 
They  may  not  strike  out  that  great  element  of  past 
and  present  hfe. 

The  differences  between  Jews,  Catholics,  and  Prot- 
estants, however,  are  represented  by  such  large 
sections  of  our  population  that  they  must  be  con- 
sidered. They  cannot  be  disregarded  on  the  ground 
that  they  signify  individual  or  local  or  temporary 
prejudices.  But  the  differences,  while  immensely 
important,  still  leave  great  tracts  of  essential  agree- 
ment. It  ought  to  be  possible  to  present  religion  in 
such  a  way  as  to  attain  the  \dtal  purpose  of  such 
teaching  without  getting  into  the  entanglements  of 
controversy. 

This  might  be  done  by  adopting  one  of  the  follow- 
ing three  methods :  In  the  first  place,  the  relations 
of  reHgion  to  morahty,  as  explained  above,  are  plainly 
taught  in  hundreds  of  pages  of  the  Bible  with  no 
reference  whatever  to  the  rehgious  disputes  and  con- 
troversies that  divide  Jew  and  Christian.  To  bring 
these  pages  together  in  the  form  of  a  lectionary  for 
pubHc  schools  ought  not  to  be  a  difficult  task.  Two 
hundred  such  readings  would  bring  before  a  school  in 
the  course  of  a  year  such  reminder  and  affirmation  of 
the  presence  of  God  and  of  our  relations  to  Him,  as 


RELIGION   AND    MORAL   TRAINING  217 

well  as  of  the  consequences  of  conduct,  as  should  for- 
tify children  and  youth  against  the  inevitable  moral 
difficulties  in  a  manner  that  mere  instruction  in  morals 
will  not  do.  And  Jews,  Catholics,  and  Protestants 
could  heartily  unite  in  the  selection  of  appropriate 
prayers. 

Another  method  of  training  the  child  in  the  religious 
life  which  should  be  acceptable  to  Jew,  Catholic,  and 
Protestant  is  the  use  of  literary  and  religious  readers 
similar  to  the  ethical  readers  so  frequently  referred  to 
in  these  pages.  By  means  of  the  indirect  method  — 
the  story  method  —  the  religious  sanctions,  as  they  re- 
late to  the  child's  duties  to  himself  and  to  others,  and 
the  duties  growing  out  of  his  immediate  relation  to 
God,  might  be  systematically  presented.  Such  story 
material  is  abundant,  and  it  could  be  carefully  ar- 
ranged in  the  form  of  readers.  They  should  contain 
nothing  that  would  not  prove  acceptable  to  Jew, 
Catholic,  and  Protestant.  Such  a  religious  reader 
might,  because  of  its  literary  quality,  be  used  as  a 
supplementary  reader  in  the  class  in  reading,  or  it 
could  serve  as  a  source  book  for  the  teacher  in  the  class 
in  morals.  She  could  supplement  the  moral  story 
with  a  religious  story,  dealing  with  the  same  virtue. 
This  would  add  to  the  purely  ethical  motives  the 
religious  motives  as  well. 

A  third  method,  similar  to  the  one  adopted  in 
Germany,  would  be  to  have  the  school  authorities 


2l8        MORAL   TRAINING    IN   THE    SCHOOL   AND   HOME 

grant  the  churches  a  half  day  per  week  for  purposes 
of  the  religious  instruction  of  children.  Or,  as  in 
Australia,  an  hour  per  week.  Under  such  an  arrange- 
ment, Jews  could  teach  Jewish  children.  Catholics 
could  teach- children  of  that  persuasion,  and  Prot- 
estants could  instruct  Protestant  children.  As  in 
Germany,  so  here,  the  school  authorities  might  in- 
sist upon  competent  instruction.  Under  such  circum- 
stances the  work  done  could  receive  credit  just  as 
work  done  in  arithmetic  or  in  history.  On  the  whole, 
either  the  first  or  second  method  stated  above  seems 
to  be  the  simplest  and  most  practicable  for  our  coun- 
try, and  it  would  seem  as  though  Jew,  Catholic,  and 
Protestant  might  unite  on  such  a  program  for  the 
recognition  of  religion  by  our  public  schools,  and  for 
the  benefits  that  would  result  from  religious  instruc- 
tion. If  the  function  of  the  school,  as  we  maintain, 
is  to  send  out,  not  merely  persons  who  can  read,  write, 
and  cipher,  but  good  citizens,  then  it  is  plain  that  the 
highest  service  that  the  school  can  render  to  the  com- 
munity is  to  secure  the  goodness  of  these  citizens  by 
founding  it  on  the  soundest  possible  basis.  If  what 
has  been  said  on  the  relations  of  religion  to  morality 
be  true,  then  we  should  not  be  content  in  moral  train- 
ing with  presenting  merely  the  moral  sanctions  of 
conduct,  but  should  make  use  of  the  rehgious  sanc- 
.tions  as  well. 

In  the  meantime,  and  even  in  the  fulfillment  of 


RELIGION    AND    MORAL   TRAINING  219 

these  ideals,  the  most  effective  reenforcement  of  mo- 
rality with  religion  is  in  the  person  of  the  reverent 
teacher.  The  personahty  of  the  teacher  is  the  con- 
stant text-book  of  the  school.  The  religious  teacher, 
conscious  of  God,  devoted  to  the  highest  ideals,  look- 
ing toward  the  life  unseen  and  immortal,  will  over- 
come all  limitations  and  temporary  hindrances,  and 
make  the  school  a  rehgious  influence.  Morality  will 
be  infused  with  religion  as  flowers  are  filled  with 
fragrance. 

The  following  works  on  the  relation  of  Morality  and 
Ethics  to  Religion  may  be  consulted  to  advantage :  Leuba, 
"  A  Psychological  Study  of  Religion,"  Part  III,  Chapter  X, 
New  York,  191 2.  Ladd,  "  Philosophy  of  Religion,"  Vol.  I, 
Chapter  XIX,  New  York,  1905.  Ladd,  "  Philosophy  of 
Conduct,"  Chapter  XXIV,  New  York,  1902.  Baldwin, 
"  Social  and  Ethical  Interpretations  in  Mental  Develop- 
ment," Chapter  VIII,  Section  5,  New  York,  1902.  Wundt, 
"  The  Facts  of  the  Moral  Life,"  translated  by  Gulliver  and 
Titchener,  Chapter  II,  London  and  New  York,  1902. 
Palmer,  "The  Field  of  Ethics,"  Chapter  IV,  Boston, 
1902.  Paulsen,  "A  System  of  Ethics,"  translated  by  Thilly, 
Book  II,  Chapter  VIII,  New  York,  1900.  Bowne,  "  Prin- 
ciples of  Ethics,"  Chapter  VII,  New  York,  1892.  Mar- 
tineau,  "Study  of  Religion,"  Introduction,  New  York. 
Janet,  "  The  Theory  of  Morals,"  translated  by  Chapman, 
Chapter  XII,  New  York,  1883.  Kant,  "  Critique  of  Practi- 
cal Reason,"  translated  by  Abbott,  Book  II,  Chapter  II, 
London,  1889. 


INDEX 


Achilles,  49. 
Adler,  57,  58  n. 
Angelo,  63. 
Aristotle,  34,  153. 

Booth,  50  n. 
Bowne,  207. 
Burk,  134  n. 

Compayre,  96. 
Coleridge,  130. 

Drummond,  134  n. 

Emerson,  65. 

Froebel,  9. 

Fisher,  75,  76  n.,  79,  80  n. 

Fiske,  207. 

Foerster,  49,  50  n. 

George,  29  n. 
Groos,  32. 
Gulick,  25,  26  n. 
Gibbon,  119. 

Hall,  9,  33  n.,  42  n.,  54  n.,  76  n.,  95  n., 

96,  208,  2 10.  J 
Hill,  26,  27  n. 

Kant,  203. 

Locke,  98,  100  n.,  174,  175  n.,  176. 
Luther,  183. 

r  letchnikofif,  37. 

Montessori,  29,  29  n.,  75,  78,  13s,  197. 

Partridge,  7  n. 
Paul,  54. 
Paulsen,  34,  34  n. 


Perez,  96. 
Plato,  52,  167. 

Quick,  100  n. 

Royce,  83,  83  n. 

Sala,  29. 

Saleeby,  25  n. 

Schiller,  167. 

Shaftesbury,  167. 

Socrates,  54. 

St.  John,  12,  13  n. 

Stern,  96. 

Stimpfl,  177,  177  n.,  182. 

Sully,  76  n.,  96,  97  n.,  176,  177  n. 

Tennyson,  185. 

Thilly,  34  n. 

Tracy,  177,  177  n.,  182. 

Ulysses,  49. 

Virtues  and  Vices  of, 

The  Bodily  Life,  53. 

The  Social  Life  (The  Family),  86- 
87. 

The  Social  Life  (The  School),  iio- 
III. 

The  Social  Life  (The  Community), 
124-125. 

The  Social  Life  (Relation  to  Ani- 
mals), 138. 

The  Economic  Life,  150-151. 

The  Political  Life,  163. 

The  Esthetic  Life,  187. 

Wordsworth,  129. 
Wright,  169. 

Zoroaster,  63. 


'HE  following    pages    contain    advertisements    of 
books  by  the  same  author  or  on  kindred  subjects. 


THE   GOLDEN   RULE  SERIES  —  Literary  Readers 

By  E.   HERSHEY  SNEATH,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

Professor  in  Yale  University 

GEORGE  HODGES,  D.D.,  D.CL. 
Dean  of  the  Episcopal  Theological  Seminary,  Cambridge,  and 

EDWARD   LAWRENCE  STEVENS,  Ph.D.,  L.H.D. 

Associate  Superintendent  of  Schools,  New  York  City 


Third  Grade 

.    $.40 

Fourth  Grade     . 

.45 

Fifth  Grade 

.50 

Sixth  Grade 

.55 

Seventh  Grade    . 

.55 

Eighth  Grade      . 

.55 

READING   WITH   A  MORAL  PURPOSE 

The  aim  of  "  The  Golden  Rule  Series  "  is  to  establish  the  child  in  the  vir- 
tues —  in  the  habits  of  will  and  the  forms  of  conduct  that  are  essential  to  the 
development  of  the  individual  and  the  society.  In  order  to  reahze  this  aim 
careful  attention  has  been  given,  not  only  to  what  these  virtues  are  but  what  is 
the  most  effective  course  available  for  their  timely  establishment. 

"  The  Golden  Rule  Series,"  a  series  of  literary  readers,  is  the  means  that  has 
been  selected  for  this  purpose. 

THE  GOLDEN  RULE  SERIES 

THE  GOLDEN  LADDER  BOOK,  Third  Grade 

THE  GOLDEN  PATH  BOOK, 

THE  GOLDEN  DOOR  BOOK, 

THE  GOLDEN  KEY  BOOK, 

THE  GOLDEN  WORK  BOOK, 

THE  GOLDEN  DEED  BOOK, 

"  The  Golden  Rule  Series  "  is  a  library  of  good  literature.  It  consists  of  six 
well-selected  and  well-graded  classic  stories  of  spiritual  content  and  moral  sig- 
nificance to  the  child.  In  these  books  the  child's  reading  begins  naturally  with 
myth  and  fairy  tale.  From  these  it  adds  to  the  reading  of  the  splendid  legends 
and  stories  of  heroism,  and  through  these  it  gradually  introduces  the  child  to 
biographical  and  historical  literature  and  stories  of  real  life  in  which  the  virtues 
that  lie  at  the  foundation  of  moral  character  —  "the  fineness  of  courtesy,  the 
combination  of  tenderness  with  strength,  the  protection  of  the  weak,  and  the 
scorn  of  all  things  base  and  mean,"  are  beautifully  suggested  and  dramatically 
portrayed  in  character  and  action. 

In  "  The  Golden  Rule  Series  "  the  child  is  taught  indirectly,  that  is,  by  the 
indirect  method,  the  lessons  of  life  that  children  should  learn  at  an  early  age. 
The  grade  by  grade  study  of  the  stories  in  "  The  Golden  Rule  Series  "  directs 
the  attention  of  the  child,  grade  by  grade,  at  the  right  time,  to  the  forms  of  con- 
duct that  are  morally  worthy.  In  this  course  of  reading  he  is  following  a  thought- 
ful and  helpful  outline  for  individual  development  in  the  virtues  of 

The  Bodily  Life  of  the  Child 

The  Intellectual  Life  of  the  Child 

The  Social  Life  of  the  Child  in  All  Its  Phases 

The  Vocational  Life  of  the  Child 

The  Civic  Life  of  the  Child 

The  .Esthetic  Life  of  the  Child 

"  In  all  this  he  is  living  the  long  p>ast  over  again,  and  is  coming  on  over  the 
road  of  prog[ress,  along  which  the  race  has  gone  before  him.  He  is  filling  in 
the  background  of  human  life.  Grade  by  grade  these  stories  secure  his  interest, 
and  what  the  child  is  interested  in  he  attends  to,  and  what  he  attends  to,  as  a 
rule,  he  remembers,  and  what  he  remembers  he  thinks  about,  and  all  this,  when 
it  involves  a  moral  content,  affects  character  and  conduct." 


GOLDEN  LADDER  BOOK 


The  Bodily  Life 

Billy,  Betty,  and  Ben  as  Soldiers 
When  Betty  Closed  the  Windows 
The  Prince  and  the  Lions 

The  ^Esthetic  Life 

The  Wonderful  World 
Deeds  of  Kindness 
The  World's  Music 

The  Social  Life 

How  the  Crickets  Brought  Good  For- 
tune 
The  Old  Grandfather's  Comer 
The  Hare  of  Inada 
The  Boy  Who  Never  Told  a  Lie 


Wellington  and  the  Plowboy 
The  Seven  Ways  of  the  Woods 
The  Two  Friends 
Hans,  the  Shepherd  Boy 

The  Intellectual  Life 

The  Cat  and  the  Fox 

How  Audubon  Came  to  Know  about 

Birds 
The  Ant  and  the  Cricket 
The  Little  Spider's  First  Web 

The  Civic  Life 

Prince  Hal  Goes  to  Prison 
My  Own  Land  Forever 
Three  Hundred  Heroes 


GOLDEN  PATH  BOOK 


The  Bodily  Life 

Feigned  Courage 
Tending  the  Furnace 
Red  Stars  and  Black 
The  Invaded  City 

The  Esthetic  Life 

The  Barefoot  Boy 

The  Gladness  of  Natiu-e 

Robert  of  Lincoln 

The  Social  Life 

Rebecca's  Afterthought 

How  the  Sun,  Moon,  and  Wind  Went 

Out  to  Dinner 
Love  Will  Find  Out  the  Way 


How  the  King  Visited  Robin  Hood 
Sara  Crewe 

Why  Violets  Have  Golden  Hearts 
St,  George  and  the  Dragon 

The  Intellectual  Life 

The  Village  Blacksmith 
The  Cadmus  of  the  Blind 
Sir  Lark  and  King  Sun 
The  Builders 

The  Civic  Life 

Arnold  Winkelried 
The  Traitor  Girl 
Sir  Thomas  More 


GOLDEN  DOOR  BOOK 


The  Bodily  Life 

The  Choice  of  Hercules 
The  Story  of  Peter  Cooper 

The  .ffisthetic  Life 

Daffodils 

The  Red  Thread  of  Honor 

Pietro  da  Cortona 

The  Lucky  Coin 

The  Social  Life 

The  Boy  Who  Became  a  Hsao-Tsze 
A  Story  of  Long  Ago 
Sylvain  and  Jocosa 


Little  Franz's  Last  Lesson 

Tarlton 

Nobility 

Orpheus  and  Eurydice 

The  Intellectual  Life 

The  School  Children's  Friend 
The  Waste  Collector 
Industry  of  Animals 

The  Civic  Life 

Paul  Revere's  Ride 
The  Sword  of  Damocles 
My  Native  Land 


GOLDEN  KEY  BOOK 


The  Bodily  Life 

The  Apostle  of  the  Lepers 
Billy's  Football  Team 

The  Esthetic  Life 

The  Pearl 

The  Butter  I.ion 

Night  Coach  to  London 

Peter  Bell 

The  Social  Life 

Samuel  Johnson 

Prince  Magha 

A  Man  Who  Loved  His  Fellowmen 


Say  Not,  the  Struggle  Naught  Availeth 
Echo  and  Narcissus 
Geirald  the  Coward 

The  Intellectual  Life 

Find  a  Way,  or  Make  It 
The  Lion  and  the  Cub 

The  Civic  Life 

The  Blue  and  the  Gray 

Song  of  Marion's  Men 

Old  Ironsides 

The  Man  Who  Could  Not  Be  Bought 


GOLDEN  WORD  BOOK 


The  Bodily  Life 

Billy's  Prize  Essay 
The  Disenthralled 

The  Vocational  Life 

Of  Sir  Beaumains  and  His  Quest 

Lochinvar 

How  Marbot  Crossed  the  Danube 

The  Boyhood  of  Abraham  Lincoln 

The  Social  Life 

The  Golden  Goose 

Tom  and  Maggie  Tulliver 


One  Good  Turn  Deserves  Another 

The  Tournament 

Florence  Nightingale 

The  Risks  of  a  Fireman's  Life 

The  Intellectual  Life 

The  Glove  and  the  Lions 
If  I  Were  a  Voice 


The  Civic  Life 

The  Man  without  a  Country 

Joan  of  Arc 

The  Bivouac  of  the  Dead 


GOLDEN  DEED  BOOK 


The  Bodily  Life 

The  Loss  ef  the  Ocean's  Price 

A  Bard's  Epitaph 

The  Boy  and  the  Cigarette 

The  Esthetic  Life 

Sir  Galahad 

Altars  of  Remembrance 

The  World  is  Too  Much  with  Us 

Character 

The  Social  Life 

Napoleon 

Ingratitude 

Silas  Marner's  Eppie 

The  Battle  of  Waterloo 

Sir  Artegall  and  the  Knight 

Sanglier 


The  Intellectual  Life 

Ozymandias 

The  Great  Stone  Face 


The  Vocational  Life 

A  Brave  Rescue  and  a  Rough  Ride 
Thomas  Alva  Exlison 
A  Glance  Backward 
George  Washington 
The  Carronade 


The  Civic  Life 

The  Strenuous  Life 
Say,  What  is  Honor  ? 
The  Four  Wreaths 


^ 


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